Seeds of Life
by Qitama
Summary: Sent away to become a spineless coward. Trained by the fiercest of Teachers in a rural Orphanage... At least, this was Gendo Ikaris plan for his son Shinji. Now, 10 years later he orders his son back to Neo-Tokyo 3 in order to fight against the Angels, as the spineless coward he was ment to be. But what Gendo didn't know... Someone interfered with his plan
1. Prolog - The Beginning

Authors Note:

Neon Genesis Evangelion belongs to Gainax and I do not gain profit from this story, am not interested in making money with it and won't ever claim any possession of any right belonging to the series. So don't think about suing me, pwease? *teary eyes*

Well this is my first FanFic, I'm usually writing books in my native language and I hope my English isn't as bad as I think it is.

Alright… So what's this story about?

This is an attempt to rewrite the whole story. Of course I'm trying to add a lot from the original anime, the manga, reload and something from anima. But the story proceeds differently.

Shinji was sent into an orphanage by his father to become a spineless coward. Someone Gendo Ikari could manipulate easily. But someone intervened and after the long time of 10 years Gendo is in for some big surprise after calling Shinji to Neo Tokyo-3. And this won't be the only surprise for him on this day.

But… just see for yourself :)

**Prologue – The Beginning:**

**Unknown Cottage**

"Son… it's time," the old man said and the young boy sitting next to him smiled while the old man showed him a letter from Japan.

"Three words? Two more than expected," muttered the young boy and shook his head, puzzled how cold-hearted one could be.

"So, this is it then?" he asked, and the old man nodded.

"Take care of yourself father, I'll miss you," the boy said calm and the old man sighed.

"I know son... I know. Just take care and always remember what you've learned from me." The old man seemed to remember something at that moment. "Oh and while you're at it, say hello to my little brother, will ya?"  
>The boy laughed. "If I meet him, I will greet him for you, father. At least he is something like an uncle for me."<p>

"Good boy. Now go. Bring an end to his madness!" he patted the young boys head and sent him off to face his destiny.

After the boy entered a cab the old man took out his phone and dialed.

A male voice answered the call. "It's done," was all the old man said.

**Bethany Base – Location, Top Secret**

An Alarm yelled through the base.

A girl just sat in her entry-plug and breathed, her entire head except for her mouth covered by the red visor of a massive helmet, wearing a neon green plugsuit with its arms and legs in a white quilted design. It was a new and yet well-known feeling for her.

"Start Entry Sequence!" stated a female voice. She recognized her as one of the bridge Techs.

"Initializing LCL ionization," this time it was a male voice. Another one of the Techs, responsible for monitoring and analysis.

She listened to them as they went through the startup protocols and breathed relaxed while waiting for the signal.

"Plug depth stable at default value. Autonomous Systems are go!" the female Tech stated.

"Boot up voltage has cleared threshold!"

_Sounds good, but can't they shorten it up a bit?_ Mari thought impatiently.

"Synchronization requirements are green. Mari, please specify a language for the cognitive systems."

"Uhhh… well I guess Japanese would do it for me," the girl answered after a short break and the evangelion started moving.

She wriggled in her seat, feeling uncomfortable.

"Damn.. This thing is really tight on my chest!" she complained while pulling at her plugsuit to get at least a bit more comfortable.

"Sorry, the supplies for the new unit were a bit late, so we had to send you out with the test version instead." the male tech apologized and the Girl giggled.

"I'm finally getting to pilot so don't worry." she replied grinning.

"Since you're such a little troublemaker consider it a request," retorted the Tech , being ignored by the girl.

She checked the controls grinning like an idiot. "It's moving… It's moving…" she mumbled to herself, giggling. "This is soooo great! I can't wait…" all systems were green. She checked the targeting system and grinned.

"Alright! Evangelion Provisional Unit-05, ready for launch!" she said while moving out.

"Now Sarge, where's that little bony rabbit?"

"It's approaching the Limbo area! Get yourself there ASAP!"

"Yesss-Sir!" she answered giggling.

"Defend the Limbo area at all cost! We cannot allow it to leave Akron!"

Mari sped up her evangelion. The four-wheeled design, making it look a bit like a weird crab, with its four, wheeled legs and the two arms, both ending in huge claws, had its advantages in a narrow space like the Bethany Base…

"Happiness doesn't walk to me, because I'm walking to it. One day, one step. Three steps in three days. Three steps forward, two steps back. Life is a one-two punch!" she sang while navigating through the tunnel systems of the base. "A great day for taking a bath in some delicious LCL…" Mari giggled and steered her evangelion to the blip on her scanner.

"Ooooh there it is!" she said excited, steering directly at the Angel. "Expand A.T. field!" raising the right arm with the equipped lance, both charging at the other one. The angel had a terrifying design. Almost like a corpse most of its body was scraped bare to the bones after several dissections and curious research projects. It consisted of a big black snail-shell like body with 4 small legs on which it moved at high-speed. The shell had a diameter of nearly 50 meters making it as big as the evangelion Mari piloted. But that wasn't all. Its neck was nearly as long as the diameter of the shell consisting only of bones and same went for the long tail that wriggled at its back, helping it to hold a balance while moving. The head looked like a weird dogskull bearing his fangs, rattling with every movement of the huge body.

"Come to me little Birdie… I will pin you at the wall like a butterfly!" the girl giggled and licked her lips again while lunging out with the lance equipped arm.

The angels eyes started to glow yellow shortly before firing a concentrated energy beam.

The girl dodged the beam by bending her evangelion a little and laughed.

" You suck at aiming little Birdie!" she giggled amused and charged her lance at the head of the Angel to pin it to the wall but it dodged without even slowing down, simply tossing the evangelion aside.

"Fuck! Dodging is a no-no!" Mari yelled and nailed the breaks, turning the evangelion around in full movement resulting in a wild screeching of its wheels. While Mari still tried to stop her evangelion the Angel blasted away the last security gate keeping it away from the central tower leading outside.

The analysts couldn't believe what they saw as the Angel materialized a halo over its body and cut the armor plates above it as if the halo was some laser cutter. The cylindrical debris fell down on the angel being stopped as it hit its halo. And as if that wasn't enough the halo started pushing the debris up again as the angel lifted off the ground levitating upwards to the surface.

"You… I can't believe this.. Commander, look! It's cutting through the armor plating as if they're nonexistent flying straight to the surface! How? Is it utilizing its A.T. Field for offensive purposes? We never heard about something like this!" the head scientist of the Base gasped surprised. And she was in for another surprise as the Angel finally reached the surface. The debris looked like a large tower hovering right above the halo of the angel. As soon as it was free it sliced the huge tube up in an asterisk pattern. After the debris hit the ground the angel moved its skull around as if it was searching for a way out of the Base.

The whole crew stared at the monitors dumbstruck about what they just saw.

"Umm… Sarge? Helloohooo?" she asked after arriving at the angel's last position. "I think we might have a little problem over here… See this big hole like thingy over there? Wasn't me, so I guess ou-r An-gel is go-ing for a walk out-side…"

The silver-haired man with the military haircut growled at her singing voice.

"Fuck Mari! Can't you take this shit a bit more serious? If we don't catch this thing we ALL will suffer the consequences!" he snapped and the girl giggled again.

"Okili dokili!" she answered making the poor man sigh. Just why on earth did he have to babysit this infantile girl?

"If you don't take this serious there will be no more LCL for you young Lady!" he snapped and this time it worked.

"Why didn't you tell me earlier Boss?" she asked back, sounding serious.

"I thought you might have grown up in the meantime baby girl!" he answered deadpan and she giggled again. "Hunt that damn thing down it already has reached the surface! Don't let it escape!" he barked his orders making Mari snicker. "Lethal force authorized!" he added after s short moment and the girl licked her lips.

"I like it when you're talking dirty Sarge…" came the response over the speakers letting the Sergeant facepalm himself.

Without further hesitation Mari fired the Boosters of her evangelion lifting it up, after the Angel.

"The Angel has reached the outer perimeter! STOP IT!" the Commander yelled and Mari sighed.

"No need to yell. I'm not deaf or something…" she replied annoyed and sped up her unit.

With roaring boosters the evangelion reached the surface of the Base, while the angel tried to climb the central Tower.

'What is it trying to do? Building a nest on top of the tower?' Mari thought as she aligned her unit at the angels position.

"Dead-end honey!" Mari giggled and lunged out at the angel with the mounted lance of her unit, pinning it at the tower with her lance.

"Got'cha!" Mari triumphed, watching the seemingly dead angel.

"Mari! Watch out!" a Tech tried to warn her because of an increasing energy output at the angel but it was too late. The Head came to life again, shooting another laser out if its eyes at her, scraping her arm.

"That hurt! That really hurt!" she screamed and tried to manage the pain her unit felt. "But this is fun, so I don't mind." Mari grumbled while gritting her teeth and grabbed the Core of the Angel with the right claw of her Unit. Meanwhile the Angel wriggled like hell as she increased the pressure on its core, firing the laser at her again.

Ignoring the hellish pain in her Body she looked at the status systems of her Unit. 28 seconds left till shutdown of her Unit.

"There's no time left. The Unit isn't holding out, either! There's not enough power to force synchronization with the cybernetic arms!" Mari yelled more thinking aloud then talking to the bridge.

The Angel fired again cleanly cutting off everything beyond the hip of her evangelion. Mari gasped in pain as the feedback of the A-10 neural connection flooded her brain and a sudden numbness creeped up her legs.

"It can't be helped! I'm giving you an arm!" she yelled at her evangelion, grabbing the Core of the Angel with the other Claw, forcing her Unit into the beginnings of a berserkermode.

The bolts of its jawlock broke, flying away as it ripped the lock apart opening a mouth with rows of sharp fangs its eyes under the armor glowing in an unholy green color.

"Now DIE!" she screamed, leaning against the controls with all her might, while her Evangelion let out a furious howl.

The Angel wriggled as hell because it felt the impending death, trying to escape it but with the claws locking its head in a place where it can't reach her with its laser beam there was no option left for it.

While fighting with the Angel the clock of the internal power supply ticked down without mercy.

4

Mari tried to increase the force at the core with her claws.

3

"Fuck! Come on! Die already, will ya?!" she screamed furious.

2

She nearly thought she might lose this one as the cracks in the angels core started to increase rapidly finally letting it burst in a fountain of blood showering the rest of her evangelion painting it deep red. With a last painful scream the angel went silent.

1

"Uh-oh..." Mari knew what was coming and initialized the emergency evacuation protocol of her Unit, ejecting the Entry-Plug.

A back-mounted Drone grabbed the ejected Plug and launched itself into the sky with sonic speed only a second before both the Angel and Unit-05 exploded, obliterating the Base.

Minutes later an Entry-Plug floating in the Sea released a stream of LCL while its main hatch opened.

Mari wriggled herself out of the heavy helmet and stood up watching the cross like pillars of light. They were the result of the angel and her evangelions explosions. Ironically the arch nemesis of humanity named after its greatest saviors and to top that off even after its death it left them a massive cross-shaped pillar reminding them about what they did.

"Farewell my friend. You did well, evangelion Unit-05."

**6 Hours later – Tokai District**

"Great. Two Stations to go with the train and because of this emergency they all stopped," a boy with short black hair muttered while searching for something useful. "A phone, a phone…" Shinji spun around searching for one. "Ah! THERE!" he said and went straight to the coin box at the corner of the street after he spotted it.

"Ok… what was the number again? 555-uhhh," Shinji tried to remember what the phone number of his future guardian was but he couldn't. "Where's that damn picture?" he asked while rummaging through his pockets searching for the picture she sent him.

"Ah… there it is," he triumphed and took a closer look at it. "Hm, Misato Katsuragi. Doesn't really look like an adult to me…" he mumbled to himself while he dialed the Number written there. The picture showed a good-looking woman with long black hair, mischievous looking purple eyes in an erotic posture. The note on the picture, he should notice her cup size only deepened his suspicions about her qualifications as a guardian.

Almost immediately after dialing a female voice answered his call.

_Due to the special emergency, all lines are currently unavailable. Please try again later._

_Due to the special emergency, all lines are currently unavailable. Please try again later._

"Ugh…" he sighed and hung up. "Looks like I'm walking, huh?" he asked himself and another sigh escaped from him because this wasn't really one of his lucky days.

Without hurry the boy started walking after the next station. What would it be? 5 miles? 10 miles? Well at least 2 Minutes with the train if it didn't stop working. He came to some stairs and decided to sit down, rethinking his options.

He took out the letter he got yesterday and looked at the blacked out paper, only revealing 3 words.

"Come! Please.

Thanks."

He couldn't believe it. Three words. Not even a single question how he had been over the last 10 years or a warm greeting for his son, nothing. Just a few words as if he was ordering around an employee.

A Jet roared over him with sonic speed shocking the boy with a loud supersonic bang.

"What the… any lower and I might have been able to touch it!" the boy gasped covering his ears.

But the supersonic bang was only the beginning of a series of explosions. A strange noise sounding almost as if something huge was walking through the city set him thinking. If it was what it sounded like it might have been his best option to make a run for it in the opposite direction.

"What's going on, did we start a war or something?" he thought aloud while putting the letter back in his backpack before he started to run. Somewhere around there should have been an emergency shelter.

As he reached the corner of the street he stopped and felt how his jaw hit the floor. A green giant walked through the city ignoring tons of Gunships floating around it and firing at it with everything they got.

"Oh boy, so this is an Angel huh?" he gasped and pinched his arm to make sure he wasn't dreaming.

It was a fascinating scene. The Gunships fired missiles, Gatling-guns and whatever they had mounted at it and the Angel didn't even blink. A short outburst of laughter escaped him as he took a closer look at the angel asking himself if this thing even had something like eyes to blink.

Instead the gel shrugged it all off and advanced as if it took a stroll through the neighborhood.

Shinji cowered as two cruise missiles roared over his head on their way to the Angel.

"Cruise Missiles? What the fuck!" he growled, still unable to avert his eyes from the fight.

The missiles connected but that's as far as it went. The Angel just shrugged them off like it did with the rest of the attacks. As the dust from the explosions started to settle the Angel raised his arm, aiming at one of the Gunships with it. Shinji tried to figure out what it was doing there till the back of its elbow, started to glow.

"Uh… don't tell me it's trying to shoot a laser beam from its palm?" he asked slightly amused, thinking that it would be just as childish as in the Mecha-Anime he often watched while being younger.

He didn't know that he was in for a big surprise, because the Angel really could shoot laser beams from its palms and actually did, just as the boy finished his thought, bisecting the targeted Gunship with a single swipe.

"Oh Boy…" was all Shinji said with some resignation as the debris of the Gunship started raining down on him.

There was no time to run or hide because one half of the wrecked gunship came straight after his place, crashing only a few meters right next to where the boy cowered.

"Must be my lucky day…" he said cynical while coughing because of all the dust and smoke.

"Well… maybe not." Was the deadpan reaction as a big green foot came flying in pursuit of the wreck, stomping the rest of it deep into the ground. He knew with all the weaponry loaded there would be an explosion next and sitting in the first row wasn't exactly the best place now.

"Want to experience an awful death being burned alive or blown into pieces? Come to Neo Tokyo-3." Shinji cussed in resignation as he realized that there was no way out for him except accepting his fate.

Covering his head with his arms he waited for the Shockwave to hit him, but instead of a Shockwave he heard the screaming of some tortured tires.

The passenger door of a blue car opened and a smiling Girl with long black hair and mischievous purple eyes greeted him.

"Sorry for being late! Get in!"

He didn't hesitate and hopped in as fast as he could while grabbing something to hold on to, because his driver floored the gas pedal speeding up the car to get them out of there.

"Miss Katsuragi I presume?" Shinji asked emotionless meanwhile trying to fasten his seat-belt.

His driver raised an eyebrow. "Miss? For god's sake, please just call me Misato. I'm getting Goosebumps if you're calling me Miss, Shinji!" she said shivering.

"As you wish." came his deadpan reply.

"You're pretty calm for being in a near death experience Shinji," she commented with a grin.

Shinji shrugged his shoulders playing it down. "Well," he explained "I expected something like this. Wherever my father goes, chaos and destruction follow," his ironic answer caused Misato to chuckle.

"You're quite different from what I expected," she gave him a huge smile, leaving it at Shinji to raise his eyebrow.

"And… what exactly did you expect?" his voice was hard to read, sounding as emotionless as a rock.

"Well that you were more timid and meek for example." Misato responded a bit too fast for Shinjis taste.

"Sounds like something my useless father would say, huh? To be honest im not surprised. He wouldn't know shit about me, he never cared and he never will, will he?" Shinji asked back letting her hear an annoyed sigh.

Misato frowned. This wasn't the boy she was told to pick up. The dossier said shy, meek, introvert and insecure. THIS boy was eccentric, strong-willed and cynical. Not to mention a well-built body shining through his white shirt. Some Gofers were in for a good spanking after she would have handed over the boy at HQ. "Ah well, no. Not really. He's too busy for making a report or something like this ya know. For that we use tons of specialists, I call them gofers, digging up everything about someone you're interested in and stuff like this," Misato explained chuckling.

"Mkay…" was the deadpan reply of the boy, making her frown again.

While Misato wondered what might go on in this cute head of him Shinji himself was in deep thought.

The timing of his father was way too perfect. He arrived in Tokyo-3 at the same second an angel attacked. Shinji had a bad feeling about the things lying ahead. What would come next? He bet his left arm that at the end of the day it would be him fighting this fucking giant with some crazy inventions of his useless father and his goons…

"Aren't you curious about what's going on?" she asked, calling him out of his thoughts.

"Well not really. I guess that green giant was an angel and my father called me here to do something against this thing. Thus I don't know why or what exactly, I'm pretty sure I will know it soon enough when we arrive at wherever we're headed. My teacher told me that he works for a military organization trying to save the world and a lot of other mumbo-jumbo."

Misato gave him a suspicious look. "I'm surprised about your knowledge Shinji. The most of it is top-secret and I don't really know what I should think about this. The Dossier states you lived with your uncle?" curiousity was written all over her face mixed with some suspicion.

Shinji nodded and took a few seconds to think before he decided to answer this one directly. The last thing he needed at the moment was an alerted guardian who tiptoed around him as if he was a spy or something.

"Yes. He taught me everything I might need in preparation for this day. He always said my father would suddenly need me for his work one day in the future and I had to learn a few things. He trained me in martial arts, fortitude and knowledge. To be honest I never understood for what I was learning this stuff." accompanying his answer with another shrugging of his shoulders.

"Father always said a healthy mind in a healthy body so I started some martial arts and I'm working out on a daily basis," he added cool after a short break.

_'I don't think I can stand this woman… way too curious.'_ Shinji thought and folded his hands.

"Can't imagine Commander Ikari saying a phrase like this," Misato wondered and this time it was Shinji who laughed.

"And neither can I Misato. Ok, let me rephrase it. My legal guardian said this. Not my genetic father. This guy is more like a stranger to me than a real father."

Misato's eyebrow twitched because of the way he talked. It sounded more like an adult talking about someone he met and wanted to forget instead of a teenager longing for his father's affection. Was there even a single point in his dossier that hit the spot? She started to doubt it.

"Can't stand your father huh?" as Shinji nodded Misato smiled. She expected this much already.

"Why should I?" Shinji decided to answer the question after giving it a quick thought. "He left me at the age of four, neither calling nor writing a letter. And after 10 years of nothing I'm finally getting something from him and it's just a blackened piece of paper with three words written on it. Hilarious if you're asking me," her endless questions started to annoy him and he looked out of the window watching the scenery flying by as the car rushed through the city.

"So… why did you come?" Misato asked and gave in to her curiosity. She wondered why he followed his father's order if he really hated him as much as he stated.

"You're a curious one huh?" he retorted cynical.

That hit the spot and Misato growled annoyed while trying to punch his shoulder. Shinji blinked surprised as he realized that she did let go of the steering wheel causing the car to fishtail.

"For God's sake! Keep your eyes on the street and your hands on the steering wheel!" Shinji gasped, while the car fishtailed from one side to the other.

Misato laughed and gained control over the car again without breaking a sweat bringing it to a halt sideways. "Tch, I'm a pro in my beautiful baby you little brat!" she stated and the boy frowned.

"Please refrain from endangering both our lives with irresponsible behavior like this!" Shinji lectured her making her twitch again. But before she could start something crazy she stared out of the window past Shinji.

"No they won't…" she gasped and Shinji didn't understand what she meant tilting his head to look in the same direction as her. "Shit! Don't tell me they're using the N2-Mines!" she yelled upset.

The Gunships fled rapidly speeding up leaving the Giant alone. Just a small triangle stayed, way over the Giant and the next thing he saw was a small glittering thing falling down creating a big flash as it hit the angel.

"Shinji! Get your head down! NOW!" Misato screamed with authority in her voice showing a more mature aspect then Shinji would have expected from her and threw herself above him, trying to shield him against the impending Shockwave.

He heard a big band and merely a few seconds later hell broke loose as the Shockwave sweeped across them, hurling the car around like a paperbag. Shinji lost his orientation immediately as the car started to flip.

"Hold tight!" He heard Misato scream over the roaring of the Shockwave while pressing herself against him tight while trying to shield him as the car flipped over and over.

It finally stopped on the passenger side of the car, with Misato groaning in pain resting on top of Shinji who felt the cold glass of the window in his back.

"Damn what a ride…" she muttered and hold her head. It took a few hits as the car flipped and Shinji gave her a quick examination. She had a wound at the side of her head. It was bleeding but not very dangerous. The rest seemed ok as far as he could see it.

"Your head's bleeding Misato. Don't touch it, please." He stated and of course she had to raise her hand in order to touch the wound. "Just why do you think I said DON'T touch it huh?" Shinji blurted out angrily.

"As if it wasn't dirty enough with all this dust and dirt in the air. And here I thought you were an adult! It's bad enough without you rubbing more dirt into it!" he snapped at her, making her blush like a little girl who got scolded by her father for doing something stupid.

"Erm.. Sorry…" she said sheepishly and stared at the blood on her fingers.

Shinji sighed… "Well… sorry for that. I didn't actually mean to scold you." he apologized and closed his eyes for a moment to collect his sort and calm himself again.

Sighing after he opened his eyes again taking in a deep breath Shinji scratched his head. "Well, so much for that." he mumbled and looked around. In the narrow space he had in the car there was no possibility for him to help Misato so he took the best option for now and this would be getting out of the car.

"Are you able to stand? We should try to get out of the car first to get a better overview about our situation." he asked and the Woman nodded, obviously still being in shock or some deep thoughts. "Hey! Hey be careful, you nearly stepped on my hand." he yelled and managed to bring his hand into safety a split-second before Misato's heel hit the place where his hand had been.

"Oh, sorry didn't mean to!" she apologized while trying her best to stand up without stepping on him or giving him a clear panty shot.

It took her a while, but after Misato finally managed to get out of her car she was back as her old self cursing some military guys for wrecking her car as Shinji crawled out of it.

"That's it, I quit. This is un-fucking-believable! The car was new! 33 payments to go! And now look at it. It's a wreck! A WRECK! Just because this fucking stupid cock sucking blockheads had to drop a fucking N2-Mine right on our heads! And my dress! Look at this. This thing was helluva expensive and now its ruined! The stains won't come out ever again. And my shades too. Look! Broken! Garbage! FUUUUUUCK!"

Shinji waited until she finished her ranting surprised that she didn't need to breathe while ranting sheer endlessly as it seemed to him. "Are you done yet Misato?" he asked calm and the Adult looked at him with an angry glare.

_'Oh… fuck. Well done Shinji. Now I'm the center of her attention and anger.'_ shot through his head as he realized what his words induced.

"You know that cursing the situation won't solve it, right?" he asked and tried to calm her down with logic. It didn't seem to work at first but after a few seconds the Woman sighed and massaged her temples.

"That's better Misato. Anger gives birth to kneejerk reactions and that's something we can't afford in our current situation, okay?" he continued his attempt and the Woman sighed again.

"Yeah, you're right," she admitted that he was right and continued massaging her temples while Shinji started to circle around the car.

"Hmm, damn… the trunk won't open as wrecked as it is so I can't reach the med pack in it. If only I could…" he mumbled to himself while he looked at his surroundings in deep thoughts. A short smile flashed over his face as he saw something he wanted. With a few quick steps he rummaged through some debris pulling at a pipe.

"Hnnnng!" he gasped as he tried to pull it out of the debris with all his might but it didn't move an inch.

"Damn! So much for that option." he growled and looked at the wrecked trunk with an angry glare.

Misato's eyes grew to the size of plates as she watched the boy squirming around the car, searching for something to open the trunk. Hell, even her anger vanished while she watched the boy searching for something useful as calm as a pond on a sunny day.

A deep sigh from him pulled her out of her thoughts. It was a strange view, seeing him standing next to the wreck glaring at the trunk as if he tried to hypnotize it to open.

_'What the fuck is he? Something like a Swiss army knife?'_ she thought dumbstruck as the boy changed his strategy and climbed on top of the car starting to seesaw. He gave the car a momentum swinging from one side to the other always increasing the force a bit as the car swung back in the opposite direction.

With a deadpan "Aaaaand hop!" he jumped off giving the car the last toss to land back on its wheels with a loud crashing sound. Misato flinched as her baby cried out to her.

_'Argh… cant he at least be a bit more careful? I hope this didn't break more of my car…'_ she thought frustrated but was wise enough to keep her mouth shut. Awestruck she watched him squirming around the car again leaving his attempts to open the demolished trunk fruitless. She couldn't help but admire his determination.

"Ooookay, here goes nothing. Straight for the last option," Shinji stated and gave the car a last glare before ripping out his right sleeve. A short examination of the cloth and Misato's head made him tear it in two so it was long enough for taping up her head.

"Well not quite antiseptic but oh well, it's the best I can come up with at the moment." He thought aloud leaving Misato insecure about whether he meant her or just talked to himself.

"Say Shinji… How come you're so reliable and calm in a situation like this?" she decided to ask him directly about what circled around in her head.

"My father taught me. He always said that nobody will need a coward who runs away or an airhead in an emergency. As far as I recall it his words were _'Always stay calm, whatever the situation and try to think of a way to help those in need around you!'_ and I'm trying to honor these words when and wherever I can," he answered calm and pride sneaked into his voice as he wrapped the sleeve around her head after ripping out the other sleeve to to make a compress.

Misato didn't know what she could say so she kept her mouth shut about his one. This boy looked as if he was 14 years old but his behavior didn't match the look. He acted as if he had been through a similar situation before although she couldn't imagine this being the case.

"Aaand done." he triumphed after he finished knotting her bandage.

Still a bit shocked about his calm and determined actions Misato touched the bandage and looked at him with a silent question in her eyes.

"Yupp, that's it." he repeated laughing after he looked into her face.

Misato drifted away into her thoughts again while the boy tried to dust off his clothes.

_'He's reliable, tough, good-looking and clever. These muscles under his shirt… not an ounce of fat I bet. Damn, if only he were a few years older he would be my ideal match! Uh oh… stay on guard Misato. It wouldn't be good falling for a kid in my age, wouldn't it? And just look at yourself. He's the kid that should need your help instead of the other way round.'_

She sighed. This was as weird as it could be. The 14-year-old boy acting more matures then the adult who would become his guardian in the future…

"Thanks Shinji!" Misato said tossing her thoughts aside and smiled at him while getting up. She took in a deep breath before examining her car.

"Oh boy… Look at my poor little baby… She's a total wreck…" Misato whimpered and Shinji rolled his eyes. _'It's a damn car. It would be smarter to worry about whether it is still able to drive or not!'_ was all he thought wisely staying silent about Misato's strange problems.

"You think it's still able to drive?" he asked deadpan after giving her a minute so the shock could settle in.

Misato tilted her head to look him into his eyes, a furious sparkling in her beautiful violet eyes.

"If not someone WILL pay for this!" she hissed and Shinji laughed at her reaction.

"I'm betting 50 bucks that this would be you then," he said teasing her with a gentle smile on his face while they got back into the car. Shinji had to enter it first from the driver's seat because of the smashed passenger door, not moving an inch when he tried to open it.

With a weird stuttering the car came to life again making Shinji wonder how this could be possible.

"So your father invited you?" Misato picked up their conversation from earlier trying to give her thoughts a new aim.

"Yes," came the deadpan answer. Damn and here he thought she would have dropped this topic already.

"Can I see it?" she asked and Shinji nodded, handing over the letter without resisting.

"Wow… really just three words," she blurted out surprised.

"You know what I can't get into my head Shinji?" she asked and Shinji had a faint idea what it might have been.

"If your father didn't write or call you the last ten years, why did you obey his order to come anyway?" she worded her thoughts and Shinji hid a smile because it was exactly what he had thought.

"Well I'm curious to be honest with you. What kept him from doing his job as a father? What was more important than family? And maybe even curiosity why he needs me now." He listed his points and paused for a while thinking about his next words.

"After.." he paused again. "Well, after Mom vanished and everyone blamed him, he didn't even talk to me anymore. All I heard from him was a deadpan goodbye as he left me in the hands of some security guards who escorted me to my uncle. No good night, or good morning. Not even a small kind word of encouragement. Hell I was 4 and saw how some strange device gulped down my mother getting told she would never return." he continued talking about his thoughts and took a long look out of the window to collect his thoughts.

Misato got a good feeling about how much he must have suffered. Right at the moment she wanted to give in at the impulse to reach out for him and pat his head he talked again and she refrained from moving her hand.

"Maybe I'm still hoping he might have a good explanation for his behavior, even after all this years.

But putting aside all of this maybe's and hopes… Yes. I hate him. For killing mom and tossing me aside when I needed him the most. Furthermore for thinking of me like something he owns and can call or sent away just as it pleases him and finally for being ignored for ten years without a single life sign from him." Shinji explained a bit, his voice calm, just stating facts. Misato frowned over the missing emotions. Usually someone would have been angry or stressed but Shinji just stated some facts about his past, as if he was reading a fairytale. He said he hated his father and to talk about this as deadpan as he did it must have been either a cover or rooted deep into the boy's heart. She couldn't tell which one was the worse of the two possibilities.

"Well… You're not alone with the last one kiddo, you're not alone," she said and for the first time a genuine smile crawled over Shinji's face.

_'He's cute when he smiles like this…'_ Misato thought and picked up the carphone.

"Your father isn't really popular at the HQ but you will see in time what I mean. There are lots of coworkers thinking the same about him as you do maybe because out of different reasons than you. But it's the conclusion that counts, isn't it?" Misato added after a short moment and dialed a number.

"Maya? Ye.. awww come on please drop the captain ok?" Misato stated to the Maya called person. Shinji tried to listen into the conversation but besides a faint feminine voice he couldn't understand a single word spoken.

"Yes." Misato replied while Shinji tried to get his head a little closer to the receiver still being unable to understand what the other person said.

"Found him in the last second. You could have warned us that these fucking assholes were dropping a N2-Mine on us!" the conversation continued and Shinji wondered why Misato said the other person could have warned them.

_'Is she a tactical supervisor or something?'_ he thought while concentrating on the conversation but rattling of the damaged car made it impossible without getting ear to ear with Misato. With a silent sigh Shinji decided to sit back and relax. If it was something important Misato would talk about it with him. At least he hoped so.

"What? Yeah, nearly blasted us to the moon. No he's unharmed. How he's… Quite well, oh you wouldn't believe me anyway. Yes I'll tell you everything later. Yes, very capable for his age. A bit gloomy but all in all a good candidate."

Shinji raised an eyebrow at this comment. _'A good candidate? For what? Killing that giant thing back in the city?' _he thought in silent solitude and hoped he might be wrong about the things that had yet to come.

"We'll need a B-22 at Entrance 34, can you sent us one?" he heard and wondered what a B-22 might be. Entrance was pretty self-explaining despite the meaning there might be at least 33 other entrances to wherever they were headed. But a B-22…?

He remembered an old design for a bomber from the US-States a B-52. Maybe she asked for a plane? Shinji tilted his head a bit as he thought about this idea but tossed it aside almost immediately because it didn't make sense. A plain would have been able to pick them up at a landing zone somewhere in the city. Damn! If only he could listen into the conversation to hear the other part of it.

"Ok, we'll be there in about 5 minutes. Later…" she finished the call and hung up.

"A bit gloomy but all in all a good candidate?" Shinji repeated her words with a raised eyebrow.

Misato laughed. "Well don't deny it. You're handsome, reliable and well-built but this gloomy attitude yours doesn't fit the picture. You need to cheer up a bit Shinji. Girls don't like gloomy guys!" she tried to tease him.

"Shouldn't you be more concerned about my chastity as a 14-year-old instead of encouraging me to reform my character to pick up girls? Sounds pretty unreliable for an adult," he answered in a cynical manner knitting his eyebrows while shooting an annoyed glare at her.

Misato looked at him and blinked.

"Did you sleep on a dictionary tonight or something?" she asked back, surprised over the linguistic capabilities of this kid. He managed it without flaw to change her teasing straight into a bad conscience for her. "Oh boy you're no fun at all Shinji," she complained and a frustrated sigh fled her lips.

"You're fun enough for the both of us," Shinji laughed and presented her a bright smile on his face.

Misato couldn't help but laugh. "Point taken, Shinji," she said and answered his smile with a warm and hearty smile herself.

As Misato told the person on the phone, they needed 5 minutes to reach a tunnel that led straight into a big cage. Misato parked the wreck in the cage and right after it came to a halt the front bumper fell off making Misato cry out in agony. "My caaar!"

A few minutes of frustrated sobbing and faint cussing later she calmed down again and let out a deep sigh before her focus shifted over to the boy next to her once again.

"Ever rode a car train Shinji?" Misato tried to start some Smalltalk with him

Shinji thought about it and all he ever rode was a normal bullet train to the countryside where his uncle lived and sometimes a bus. "Nope, I'm a country bumpkin, no car trains, no MRT's or something else like this. Only thing I ever rode were a bullet train and some busses." He replied calm leaned back in his seat, eyes closed. "How about you? You're from the city? Or a country bumpkin like me?" he asked back and opened one eye to look at her.

"Finally warming up with me, eh?" she asked back grinning and thought about his question.

"I was born in the city. But with my father being a scientist researching something called Super Solenoid Theory," she paused and chuckled about his puzzled look. "Please don't ask me what's it about I couldn't answer this one even if I my life depended on it.." she answered his silent question.

"Well it didn't matter because I never stayed longer than a few months wherever we went." She answered his question while playing with the cross-shaped pendant around her neck.

"So if you want to you could say I grew up in both. City and the countryside," she concluded.

"I see. So I guess you can understand this feeling of being left alone huh?" he asked and Misato chuckled.

"Yupp. Better than you might think," a quick reply while she tilted her head to look at him.

"How do they say again? Birds of a feather flock together?" she asked giving him a warm smile before she punched his shoulder softly.

_'I guess she isn't as bad as I thought at first…'_ went through his head and he smiled back at her.

"Maybe… We'll see Miss Katsuragi," he stated with a mischievous grin.

"Whoa there… stop it! See? Goosebumps! And they're all your fault and yours alone!" Misato gasped and showed him her arm.

He couldn't help but laugh. "Fascinating Misato… Seems like a conditioned reflex if you're asking me," he gasped between his laughter.

At first Misato growled at him, but as quick as she growled she smiled again. "See? This attitude fits you better Shinji!" she said and her voice sounded soft.

Shinji shrugged with his shoulders. "Depends on who I'm talking too I guess," a small victory for her at least.

"Well at least promise me being natural outside of NERV. Oh… NERV… right, I nearly forgot. Here, for you," she said and gave him something like a booklet.

Shinji flipped through the pages finding nothing extraordinary about NERV. Common stuff about the organization its connections to the military and so on. It was a typical booklet for the common citizen who wasn't supposed to know something about NERV.

"Don't expect too much. It's not even worth the paper it's printed on. Besides… I guess you already know more about NERV then this thing could ever teach you." she confirmed his thoughts.

"Thought so." a deadpan answer again.

"So… what are you doing here anyway?" Shinji asked her being curious why she was called a captain on the phone.

Now it was her time to shrug her shoulders. "I'm captain and commanding officer for tactical affairs and strategy while fighting an Angel. You could say I'm the one ordering around the soldiers on the battlefield." she stated and Shinji tried to imagine this juvenile being as a commanding officer…

"So the commanding Officer was sent out picking up the oh'so great commanders' son?" he asked her with a mixture of disbelieve and cynicism in his voice.

She simply laughed. "Well, if you want to put it like this. Yes. I will be your guardian if you start working for your beloved father so I guess it's good behavior to pick up my…" she paused and thought about something. "Well, future Son or something like this," she finished the sentence and Shinji's eyebrow skyrocketed.

"Umm… will I have to call you mom at work?" he asked trying to sound sheepishly earning a punch at his shoulder for it.

"Don't you dare or I will eat you alive!" she hissed at him before breaking out in laughter.

Shinji couldn't help but go with her.

_'Yupp I think I might be able to like this woman…'_ an earlier thought crossed his mind again.

The cage slid past some last plates and Shinji blinked a few times because a bright light shined into the car.

"Oh… Geofront hm?" he asked calm.

"Awww man, come on! And here I thought at least NOW you would react like a normal kid… Unbelievable, really!" she complained making him laugh again.

"Awww me gawd! Misato look! It's a Geofront! A REAL Geofront! Maaaaan im soooo excited!" he gasped while feigning excitement.

Misato couldn't help but start to laugh again.

"Well that would have been a nice reaction if you actually meant it. Just leave out the sarcasm and I might believe you, mkay?" she said after swiping away a tear of laughter. "Get ready, we're arriving in a few minutes." She said but Shinji didn't care. "Mhm..." came a last deadpan reply from him before the B-22 stopped.


	2. Chapter 1 - First Contact

**Chapter 1 – First contact**

**NERV-HQ – Geofront Sector 5-22**

After they arrived Misato got some quick attention from a medical team treating her head with a fresh bandage and administering some painkillers. Misato looked as if being tortured while the Meds swarmed around her.

Shinji smirked amused and watched the procedure. As the Meds administered the painkillers he laughed. "Please, is this really necessary? This woman is crazy enough without any drugs!" he asked earning a furious growl from her while some of the Meds snickered.

"You little bra…" Misato started to lecture him but stopped immediately as one of the Meds sighed and grabbed a syringe while giving her an annoyed glare.

Was it just his imagination or did her face actually lose some color as she noticed the needle?

"Better…" responded the Med and continued checking her pulse after he laid the syringe back. "Ok. Looks good and you're ready to go Captain. But please refrain from too much stress. It doesn't look like a concussion, but call us immediately if you're feeling dizzy, sick or disoriented just in case."

"Yeah yeah! We're done here?" Misato asked totally pissed and the Med nodded. "Good. Care to stitch the lil' one over there back together after I'm done with him?"

"Domestic violence already Misato?" Shinji asked trying to look dead serious as he kept his laughter in check only adding fuel to her fire.

"Come here you little..!" she yelled while lashing out at him trying to grab him.

"Ole!" was his only comment as he dodged her and went into cover behind one of the medics.

"Please Captain calm down," he intervened and stopped the woman as she tried to start another attempt. "Otherwise we would have to sedate you. Appealing?" he added , entering a stare down competition with Misato. After a few seconds she backed out of it and a deep sigh made its way out of her throat.

"Must be your lucky day Shinji," she muttered still a bit pissed but a lot calmer than before.

Shinji decided to let this one pass without a comment. He knew she would explode again otherwise. Instead he smiled innocent and tipped on his head. "How's your head? Everything ok?" he asked seriously worried.

Misato noticed his earnest concerns about her and it cooled off her anger. "I think it's as good as new," she answered his question and smiled while making the V-sign for victory.

"Glad to hear," a short response from him but it was enough to earn a gentle smile from her. "So.. Here we are. Is there something like a conference room where I will meet my father?"

Misato heard his curiosity and quickly hid her smile behind her hand while feigning to scratch the fresh bandage. "Uh… nope. We will meet the head scientist at sector seven and then we will continue our tour through the HQ to hangar 01." A rather short explanation but she knew Shinji would get the picture.

"Mkay. Well then, lead the way please." Shinji responded and sighed. "Can't wait to meet the old fart," he whispered to himself not aware that Misato could hear it.

"My, my. Just relax, everything will be fine," she tried to encourage him and raised an eyebrow as he just shrugged his shoulders. "Ok, follow me. Ritsuko must be waiting already and she can really be a pain in the ass if she has to wait," Misato giggled and went straight for one of the band conveyors which seemed to transport the workers around in this gigantic pyramid.

**15 minutes later…**

The two of them stood upon the band conveyor while Misato tried to read something like a map.

"Misato?"

"Hm?" she rotated the map, obviously thinking it might be wrong the way she held it.

"I think we've already been here twice now."

She flinched as he stated their problem as emotionless as a rock and sighed.

"Uh… Well I guess you might be right there," she admitted and Shinji laughed.

"I guess we can't just ask this head scientist to pick us up, can't we?" a quick analysis of their situation without even looking at Misato who stood behind him. He knew her pride would be a huge obstacle.

"Nope. And besides, I don't think we will need to. This Conveyor should bring us to the right Elevator soon," she confirmed his thoughts.

"I think I heard this somewhere before today…" he retorted right back at her and he thanked god that she couldn't see his big grin as her angry growl reached his ears. They passed through a big security shutter and the wind blew right into his face as it opened. Slightly curious his eyes wandered through the area. 'Fuck who constructed this thing? If someone falls off the conveyor he's in some deep shit. I can't even see the bottom down there…' he thought while he looked at the endless pit beneath them. He didn't even have a clue how far it went down there. They passed another security shutter and Shinji thanked god as soon as he saw some solid ground approaching.

"See? As I told ya! Elevator 5-22!" Misato said with confidence and laughed as he turned around to her and raised an eyebrow.

"You sure this is the right one?" Shinji asked amused as they entered it.

"Yeah, yeah. Just relax. We will be there soon," she responded making him snicker.

"Must be my imagination… but I think I already heard this a few times today," he retorted giggling, making her angry again.

"You little rascal! I think you're in for some good spanking huh?!" she yelled and took him into a good old headlock, rubbing his head with her knuckles.

"Ouch! Hey!" Shinji whimpered playful, while not trying too hard to break free as the Elevator suddenly stopped and the doors slid open.

A tall blonde, only wearing a lab coat and a One-piece Swimsuit entered the cabin raising an eyebrow before knitting both of them in anger.

'What the… what kind of work attire is this?' Shinji thought irritated.

"So my work gets disrupted for picking up a useless captain that can't find her way even after working here for 3 months, just to find her violating an invaluable asset of the organization in an elevator?" she asked with her voice dripping of sarcasm.

Misato set him free with a stupid grin on her face.

"Sorry Ritz… But the little brat needed some education!" she justified her actions making Shinji laugh out loud.

"Just look who the pot's calling cattle…" he said calm, making the Blonde laugh while Misato started to twitch again.

"Point for you young man." The Blonde replied, while Misato looked at him as if she would jump him any second.

"Names Shinji. But I guess calling me an invaluable asset means that you already know who I am Miss…?" Shinji asked the Blonde earning an interested look from her.

"Not really what the dossier told about him huh?" she asked Misato who was still pouting like a small child.

"Yeah. Totally no fun." Was the answer, forcing Shinji to give her an evil grin.

"Analysing your attire and the way you speak I guess that you are something like a scientist at NERV? Being in charge maybe?" Shinji picked up the conversation from before. He knew who she was because Misato had told him but for now he played the guessing part.

"Dr. Akagi Ritsuko, I'm the Headscientist and in charge of Project-E. But you can call me Ritsuko. We will work together in the near future. You're a pretty sharp kid, huh?" she said while giving him an once-over.

"Is this some kind of new fashion for kids?" She asked irritated about his missing sleeve.

"Thought so… and no, it went missing while bandaging a certain someone's blockhead. Don't you think it's a bit weird to complain about my clothes while wearing s swimsuit?" Shinji replied amused earning another look from her, this time an annoyed one and a deep growl from Misato for calling her a blockhead.

"You're a strange fellow… resembling your father a bit when he was younger." Ritsuko stated and Shinji blinked for a second. Now THAT was something he definitely didn't want to hear.

"Well I wouldn't mind the strange fellow but similarities to my father?" he shook his head in anticipation… "And here I thought I might start to like you, because we seem to be on the same level about making fun about Misato." The boy replied slightly annoyed.

"Uhhh… careful Ritz, hot topic ya know…" Misato snickered completely ignoring his comment about her while Ritsuko needed a second to understand what she meant.

"Oh.. I see." was all she said about it.

"I heard you got into some trouble while picking up the boy?" she asked pointing her finger at Misato's bandaged head.

Misato knitted her eyebrows in deep anger. "Don't remind me about it…" she snarled.

"These fucking blockheads dropped a N2-Mine right on our heads nearly blasting us to the moon while we tried to escape the fight.

"Well trying to pick him up right under the feet of an Angel wasn't really the brightest idea you ever had." a snide remark from Ritsuko that hit a spot. Misato sighed annoyed and started to rub her temples while she thought about an answer.

"Maybe I should have left him there to get trampled by the third Angel, then my Baby wouldn't be such a wreck," Misato shot back after a few seconds making Shinji raise an eyebrow.

"Well, excuse me for asking the Angel to play hide and seek with me," came a quick retort from him making the two women laugh.

"Can't say that he's boring," Ritsuko giggled amused while her thoughts trailed off to another road. 'Hm… this will be a huge shock for the commander. His son isn't really what we expected. Could Maya…? No. Should I contact HIM? Blergh… annoying.'

"…itsuko… Ritsuko?"

The voice of the boy cut through her thoughts.

"Uh… Yes, Shinji?" Ritsuko snapped out of it and looked at the boy. He held up one of this grotesque information booklets. Misato chuckled as she saw Ritsuko's annoyed glare. "You just had to give him one of those aberrations, didn't you?" she asked and shifted her focus back to the boy. "I guess you want to ask me something about the stuff in this thing?"

"Uh…" Shinji answered hiding his amusement. "Nope. I'm more interested in the stuff that is NOT in this thing, as you call it."

Ritsuko snickered. "I think I'll like this one Misato…"

"See? Told ya. Clever little brat, isn't he?" came the quick response.

Shinji grunted as she called him brat yet again but stayed silent.

"Ok, Shinji. We'll see what I can tell you and what is Top Secret and out of your clearance level."

Shinji scratched his head while he thought about his questions. Of course the Blonde wouldn't be able to tell him everything but depending on the question he asked he might well be able to learn something useful.

"Ok… So first of all…" he fell silent again, brooding over the question. "No. Ok now. First of all I would like to ask if calling me an asset and my father summoning me here is directly connected to fighting with the big green smurf up there in the city or not."

Ritsuko eyebrow skyrocketed. "Now bite me if this kid isn't one of a kind." she whispered surprised. "That's a very educated guess Shinji. And something I can answer easily. Yes. Your father called you here to become a part of Project-E. In short, we at NERV only exist to defend the world against the beings called Angels. If they defeat NERV the world will stop existence." Ritsuko answered the question after thinking carefully about what words she should choose.

"Ok and I'm supposed to do what with the Angel? Talk it into leaving us alone? Or Making friends with him? I mean, call me narrow-minded but this thing was about 60 meters tall ya know. I'm quite tall for my age buuuut I don't think I would grow to this height in a few hours." Shinji vocalized the second question.

The two women giggled at this question. They knew what the hangar where they headed to hold in store for the young boy.

"The answer to this one you'll see when we'll reach our destination Shinji." Misato chuckled.

Shinji snarled irritated as the two women exchanged amused glances.

"Great. Just leave me in the dark you two." He growled making the two laughing again.

"Ok, different question. Will I meet my father where we're headed?" Shinji changed the subject.

"I guess the chances are round about 50%." Ritsuko said in a dry way.

'Seems as if she's back in scientist mode eh?' Shinji thought and sighed.

"Wonderful, just what I need now. Anything else I should know?" he asked earning another burst of laughter from Misato.

"Oh you're in for several big surprises in the next few minutes Shinji. We wouldn't want to spoil the fun for you, wouldn't we?"

"You know what? If I don't like what I see I'll kick a new dent in your Baby!" Shinji threatened her.

Misatos eyes narrowed at his words. "Don't you even dare you little brat! I'll spank your ass if you try!" she answered making him burst into laughter in return.

"Weak spot identified." Ritsuko commented grinning from ear to ear. "Trust me Shinji. At least you will be amazed, and if not. Well, I can tell you where she will hide her car."

"RITSUKO!" Misato gasped surprised while the Blonde smiled serene.

"Any questions left Shinji?" the tall Blonde asked ignoring Misato completely and Shinji just shook his head while he thought about the answers he got. The elevator stopped and Ritsuko directed them into some kind of Lift. Shinji follow her without asking why or where they headed. All he could see was a dim red light while they rode the lift deeper down into the depths of the NERV-HQ.

"So Ritz, I guess you're planning to activate Unit 01? How are our chances?" Misato asked after a few minutes of silence and the Blonde shrugged with her Shoulders.

The Blonde typed something into her tablet. "The Magi announce a possibility of 0.000000000001% for a successful activation of Unit 01, a solid zero for Unit 00.

Misatos eyes widened. "You're joking, right? That IS practically zero! For both Units!"

"Well maybe for a simpleton as you are, but statistically it is possible. If it helps look at it from this side: If Unit 01 doesn't activate we'll die anyways. If it does… Well depending on Shinji here maybe too or maybe not. We'll see about that."

"Huh?" Shinji asked not really being able to follow their conversation. "What are these Units anyways?"

Misato and Ritsuko exchanged long glances before Ritsuko answered in a scientific, serious way. "Humanity's greatest Weapon. You will see it very soon Shinji. I hope you'll like it."

The Boy shrugged his shoulders and kept silent.

**10 Minutes later Hangar 01**

After the lift stopped at a huge security shutter they switched into a boat. Crossing something like a sea in absolute darkness Shinji wondered where this journey would take him. He couldn't really believe they wanted to show him a Sea or something similar. After a sheer endless ride they finally reached something like a bridge. At least Shinji thought so because he stepped on solid ground and it sounded like it was made of metal.

"Ok Shinji…" Ritsuko disturbed his thoughts and he looked up.

"As you can see here…" she started only to be interrupted by an amused comment from him.

"As you can see there's nothing to see at all."

While Misato chuckled amused Ritsuko snarled offended. "Don't interrupt me young man. I try being serious here." She lectured him and took a deep breath before she continued.

"Ok, where was I… So, as you can see here in this Hangar houses humanity's greatest weapon to fight the Angels. The humanoid biomechanical battle robot Evangelion Unit 01," as she dramatically raised her voice the lights turned on and Shinji blinked as he tried to adjust to the sudden brightness around him. As his eyes got more and more used to the light he raised an eyebrow as he stared into the face of a giant purple and black colored robot.

"I guess we can't talk about the color if I have to take a walk in this thing, can't we?" he asked back deadpan.

As Misato burst into excessive laughter Ritsuko's jaw nearly hit the floor. A 14-year-old boy stood face to face with a 60meter tall battle robot and all he did was to complain about the color? She threw a death glare at Misato who was still laughing.

"Indeed," sounded a deep voice through the Hangar over the speakers.

"Father. How nice, and here I thought you might be too busy to say hello, like umm… the last 10 years for example?" Shinji said emotionless and looked up to where his father stood. Shinji didn't know it was a commando central for Hangar 01 and from down below it just looked like a balcony to watch the Hangar below. Shinji noticed several mechanics and technicians around them who stopped working to listen in to their conversation. Even Misato stopped laughing immediately as she felt the tense around them increasing.

Gendo Ikaris face was that of a sphinx as he stared down at his son. "Don't waste my time with unimportant Topics. I didn't call because it wasn't necessary. Now there is a need for you. I have a task for you." He retorted deadpan while he steamed on the inside. What the fuck happened to the spineless coward he ordered? He picked a special orphanage, with bribable Guardians so they would raise the kid as he would need him later. He would investigate this matter later. Now he had to play his cards carefully to keep his plans safe.

"Wonderful. Ok just an educated guess, but I believe I'm supposed to pilot captain purple over there to fight the green smurf upstairs?" Shinji continued without moving a muscle in his face, ignoring the faint giggles from the crew around them in the hangar.

Gendo had to suppress the urgent want to draw his gun and get rid of this annoyance below. But at the same time he knew best how much his plans needed his useless son.

"Yes. That's exactly why you're here Shinji."

Shinji took his time to sort his thoughts. He had an infinite number of questions, accusations and even curses he wanted to through at his father. But it wouldn't be wise to do so right from the start. His Guardian and so to speak real father for him warned him not to harass Gendo too much or it might end in a catastrophe.

"Tell me why I should follow your orders dear father?" another provocation, but smarter, more covert than before, his voice monotone, not stressing a single word.

"Because the world will vanish if the Angel defeats us. You are humanity's last hope Shinji."

"Sounds cool. But I might have some doubts about this one. Isn't it a very big coincidence that just the moment I'm called an Angel shows up, threatening humanity? Care to explain to me how you could know the exact moment I would be needed?" Shinji asked after another moment of silence.

"That's of no concern for you. Will you pilot it or not?" Gendo retorted monotone.

"Why should I?" a quick response. Shinji withstood the impulse to bit his lip because it wasn't a well-selected reply.

"If its money or prestige… Piloting an EVA will bring you plenty of both."

"Commander, you can't mean to…" Ritsuko interrupted only to get a quick snap from him.

"Silence Dr. Akagi! If the Kids willing to do as told for trivial things as money or fame so be it!"

"Aww please. Don't try to bring me down to the same level as you are father. I'm asking for a reason, not a bounty." Shinji snapped, this time anger echoed through his voice. He focused on his father, ignoring everything around him. He didn't see the jaws of the crew drop to the bottom as he accused his father of being a cheap skate. And what irritated them the most was that the almighty commander of NERV, the iron sphinx as some called him behind his back seemed to take the humiliation without a response.

Gendo kept his masquerade up but his anger let him grit his teeth. 'So you wanna play hero huh? Well as you wish. Let's give plan B a try…' he thought and corrected his glasses before he opened a communication line to the command bridge.

"Fuyutsuki… wake Rei, the spare is unbearable," was all he said. His second-in-command raised an eyebrow.

"You sure about this, Reis current conditions aren't…" Fuyutsuki tried to voice his concerns but Gendo interrupted him harshly.

"It's not as if she's dead. Do as I command."

"As you wish," his second-in-command responded and Gendo closed the link.

"Go home Shinji. I don't have time to play games with a kid while humanity is at the brink of extinction. Get Unit 01 ready. Change the configuration of the plug for Rei!" He said cold-hearted and watched the reaction of his son as the crew started to take action. To his personal dismay Shinji didn't even lift an eyebrow.

"Too busy to give a satisfying answer eh?" he retorted and exhaled before he shrugged with his shoulders.

"Well Misato, Ritsuko, you two heard it. Where's the exit of this rat-maze?" the boy asked with a forced smile. He knew his father would have some ace up his sleeve but for now all he could do was watch the events unfold.

"Shinji please. Only you can pilot this thing! We need your help; damn humanity needs your help! Didn't you tell me on the way that you would help everyone who was in a situation? This whole planet is in a situation now. We all will die if this thing up there wins!" Misato tried to convince the boy after a minute of silence. Before Shinji could answer a security door opened and showed two medics rolling in a bed.

Shinji's eyes widened as he noticed the heavy bandages of its inhabitant. A girl, maybe around his age, with exotic blue hair and skin as white as if she was dead. He nearly believed she might be as she tried to sit up and groaned in pain, heavily panting. One eye covered with a bandage, her head, her arm, her chest… Damn this girl looked as if she was ready to go out as a mummy on Halloween, a beautiful mummy as far as he was able to see her body and face. Lost in his thoughts about the girl he didn't notice how the hangar started to shudder.

"Shinji! Get down!" Misato yelled at him but the boy acted on autopilot as he sped up and ran towards the girl who still sat in her bed while she tried to manage the pain so she could get out of it. As the room started to shudder like hell her bed flipped because she leaned at one side and the movements broke the balance of it. With a hissed "Fuck!" Shinji leaped forward and grabbed her waist at the last possible moment before she hit the floor, turning her upwards so he could act as a cushion for her. Still the sudden shock from the bump let her gasp and scream in pain as both of them slid a few meters over the ground.

"Hey! You're alive?" he asked the heavily breathing girl on top of him. It seemed as if she wasn't able to answer because of her pain. Slowly Shinji brought her body into a more comfortable place, holding her tight in his arms as she tried to fight against an incoming blackout.

"So he doesn't even care if a wounded girl dies to reach his goals huh?" Shinji asked himself being disgusted about his father. An eye opened and looked at him. "Don't worry. I won't let him hurt you anymore… As long as I'm here I will be your shield." Shinji whispered and she blinked. "Relax now, the medics will sooth your pain soon. Promise!" he added and maybe it was just his imagination but it seemed as if she tried to thank him with a glare and a faint nodding of her head before she closed her eye and gave in to the impeding darkness.

Shinji didn't notice the faint approving glow of the eyes of the big robot as he promised the girl to keep her safe. But very soon he learned that the humans around him weren't the only ones watching him. The Hangar started to shudder again as another heavy explosion occurred and this time it was hard enough to rattle lose some of the head lights. The debris falling down, Shinji could only stare at it as it closed in on him and the fainted girl in his arms. A big dark Shadow accompanied by a splashing sound occurred and suddenly all he saw was a big Hand above him, shielding him against the debris and sending it flying directly at the security glass of his father's balcony.

"Whoa…" Shinji gasped surprised and looked at the big purple head of the machine. Its eyes glowed faintly before they went dark again and left him doubting his own sanity.

"What the…?" he heard the gasp of Misato, sounding as surprised and irritated. "Ritz, what was that? How can it move without an Entry-Plug inserted?" she asked and Shinji thought he heard something like fear in her voice, too.

"Scientifically spoken… It can't." She said sounding as puzzled as Misato. 'If only you knew Misato…' Ritsuko thought but kept the surprised face to support the charade.

Above all of them Gendo smirked unnoticed. 'Perfect. She protected him. It will work.'

"Father!" the voice of his annoying son penetrated through his thoughts.

"You're still here?" Gendo asked cold.

"I will never allow you to send this injured girl into her certain death!" the boy shouted pissed and Gendo smirked again before he corrected the position of his glasses.

"As far as I know I am the commander of this institution, brat! Know your place." He snapped at him and saw how his son clenched his fists as he suppressed his anger.

Shinji needed a few seconds to recollect himself. His father played his cards well. The boy noticed it a merely second after he exploded. A faint grin started to creep upon his face.

"You know what? Yes. You are. But as far as I see it your alternative got knocked out for good. So do you need my help or not? If not, just say so and I'll turn around and walk away." the words, well-chosen, hit a spot and Gendo flinched with a glimpse of rage rushing over his face before he got back his composure.

"Clever, really clever Shinji. Yes. Rei was our only alternative. Your turn." Gendo admitted defeat and gritted his teeth. 'Damn this brats too clever for his age.'

Shinji crossed his arms in front of his chest and gave it a deep thought. For this little moment he had the upper hand.

"Ok…" he started and took a deep breath before he announced his conditions. "I have three Conditions before I'll pilot this thing." He said calm and the Crew around him started to whisper.

"Go on, Shinji." Gendo snarled through his gritted teeth barely keeping his rage in check.

"First… The Girl, Rei, get her back into the medical ward! Before her wounds aren't healed don't even dare to get her out of it again!"

"Granted…" Gendo said his mood lifting a bit. Now the boy got back into the scenario Gendo imagined for him.

"Second… Misato risked her life and possession while she picked me up. I want NERV to pay her repair bills for her car and other possessions that got wrecked in the process."

"Uh…" Gendo blinked irritated. Really now? He thought about the Items of a person he met only hours ago? Stupid brat. He didn't even realize what power he held for the moment. "Granted." He finally said ignoring the gasps rising from the rank around them.

Misatos jaw hit the floor as Shinji stood up on her behalf and pressed his father to pay her bills. She exchanged a long glance with Ritsuko but the Blonde was dumbstruck herself. Misato giggled as she realized how puzzled her Friend must be about the fact that a 14-year old outplayed the commander without breaking a sweat.

"Hurry Shinji. We haven't got all day! State your last condition," Gendo said, his voice cold and emotionless again as another explosion occurred.

"Seems so." Shinji replied smirking as he thought about his last demand. Keeping the girl safe was his top priority. Helping Misato to thank her for her kindness so far was a spontaneous idea. His last demand had to be well-conceived. He remembered what his guardian had suggested.

"As far as I know NERV is a military organization, right? Misato? What would be an appropriate rank for a pilot?" he asked the purple-eyed woman and she blinked surprised for a moment.

"Err… Based on the UN-Protocol I guess First-Lieutenant why?" she answered perplexed.

"Good. I guess it wouldn't be too hard for you to make the arrangements for ranking me and adding the clearances the rank brings with it father?" Shinji asked and Gendo smirked.

"Indeed. As Pilot you will get several privileges such as a driver's license, a company car, and a few more additional to a salary of round about 100.000 Yen per month because of your rank. Is this all you're wanting Shinji?" Gendo asked and was sure he won. The brat would pilot the Evangelion and he WOULD become his pawn. If he accepted he would be the same as an official employee at his free disposal.

"Well, I guess this sums it up pretty good." Shinji answered and scratched his head as he thought about it. "Ok deal. What now?"

Gendo had won. The boy finally submitted himself under his jurisdiction. "Reprogram EVA 01 for the new pilot. Captain Katsuragi, you're in charge of the operation. Shinji, Dr. Akagi will explain everything from this point onwards."

Shinji raised an eyebrow as his father gave some short commands and then turned around to vanish. "Uh… Misato?" he asked the purple-eyed Officer next to him but as soon as his father vanished she gave in to all the suppressed laughter.

"Mwaahahaha god that was…" she gasped for air, "..haha priceless! Ritz I love this kid… by God I love him!" she snorted while the Blonde only sighed and rubbed her temples. "You know that everything in this Hangar gets recorded, do you?" she asked dry but Misato was too busy with trying to simultaneously laugh AND breath to notice what her words implied.

"Shinji, follow me. Just leave the imbecile alone." Ritsuko said and left the still laughing Captain where she was. Shinji sighed and followed the blonde scientist.

She led him to a big white tube with an opened hatch.

"Ok, this is an Entry-Plug. All you have to do for now is climb the ladder, get into the seat in there and wait. We will do the rest. Further instruction will follow via com; oh and please wear these A-10 neural connectors. You will need them to synchronize with the EVA," was her quick explanation and the boy didn't bother to ask for the details. If it was all he had to do…

After he entered the Plug the hatch closed and he could feel some movement.

"Ok Maya, the boy is ready. Initialize synchronization protocol Alpha. We will skip the minor details and hope it will work." The Blonde instructed a petite Tech and the brown-haired girl started to work her console.

"Umm… anybody out there? Helloohoo?" they heard Shinji's voice. It sounded calm and if at all a tad bit curious.

"We can hear you Shinji." Misato answered. She had finally managed to get a hold of herself and entered the command bridge to do her job as tactical officer in command.

"Good," came his answer and he relaxed.

"Oh yeah, Shinji? The Entry-Plug will get flooded with LCL now. Don't worry and just breathe it in. After it fills your lungs your blood will be oxygenated directly through the liquid in your lunges." Ritsuko warned the boy as he looked beneath him to find the origin of some gurgling sounds. An amber-colored liquid started to fill the Plug and Shinji sighed deeply.

"Is this really necessary? I swear I took a shower this morning. There's no need to take a bath now for me ya know…" he commented the situation and closed his eyes before he swallowed some of the liquid while he tried to override the natural reflexes to hold his breath in order NOT to inhale the liquid.

"Blergh… tastes like chicken…" Shinji suppressed the urge to vomit as he tasted blood in his mouth. What the fuck was this stuff? Blood would be red. But what tasted the same as blood smelled the same and looked like liquid amber? He decided to look into this after he got out of this strange tube.

Some of the bridge-crew chuckled at his comment except for Ritsuko. She frowned irritated and made a short notice on her clipboard before she tapped Maya on her shoulder.

"Ok Maya, connect our comedian to the Unit. Let's see how far the boy can synchronize without proper training." Ritsuko ordered and watched the monitors as the Girl announced the different stages.

"Connecting A-10 neural network."

Shinji raised an eyebrow as the surroundings came to life, changing their colors. Magenta, yellow, blue, green, black and after a last flash he suddenly felt a strange connection between him and the machine, just as if they both shared one mind and parts of their bodies. He could see the Hangar where they stood only minutes ago and watched curious as several status monitors popped up keeping track of what the bridge crew did.

"Graph rising. We'll reach line 24 soon. Everything's stable so far. Connection seems good, nearly no background noise in the thought patterns," Maya Ibuki announced and glared at her monitors. She was excited. It was always special to startup the huge war machines they maintained here at NERV but today was special. The pilot was new and to call him a rookie would be a good candidate for the understatement of the century. She was amazed that the Kid seemed as if he didn't care at all what they did. He just entered the Plug and listened to Ritsuko's commands and explanations without having any problems as far as it seemed.

"Line 24 breached, rising steadily. Neural connection is stable. Everything's working normal," she reported and raised an eyebrow.

"Dr. Akagi? You should take a look at this. Are you sure the Kid never saw an EVA in his life before?" Maya asked puzzled as the synchrograph rose over the 50% line.

"Ho boy. That's a pretty good ratio for his first time isn't it?" Ritsuko commented what she saw and hid her confusion about this. How could the boy possibly synch so successful? And it continued even farther. As the graph climbed the line of 60% without stopping once as high wandered her eyebrow towards her forehead while she watched it.

"I can't believe it…" Maya whispered as the graph finally stopped at a constant 78%.

"Same here Maya… same here… Ok let's bring the kid to cage 5-22." Ritsuko replied to the comment of the girl and looked at Misato. "Everything set. We have a stable 78% without background noise or interferences. Unit 01 approaching Cage 5-22, ready for launch in… approximately 45 seconds."

Misato nodded and spun around to face the commander behind them. Gendo Ikari was sitting at a desk on a higher platform so that even while sitting he would look down at them. His second-in-command Fuyutsuki stood beside him, his arms folded behind his back, motionless like a statue.

"EVA Unit 01 ready for launch. Clearance granted commander?"

Gendo smirked under his folded hands and his cold, emotionless voice sounded through the command bridge without him raising it. "Granted." His timing was perfect. As the Giant reached his final destination he spoke the needed words.

"EVA 01 LAUNCH!" Misato barked and Shinji gasped as the Unit shot towards the surface at an incredible speed.

"Next..time try to..warn me..before you shoot..me through the..roof!" he managed to complain through his gritted teeth.

"Stop acting like a wimp! You're a man or what?" Misato retorted and Shinji laughed hard.

"Said the woman specially known for acting like a teenager," he shot back and snickered as her growling reached him over the com system. It seemed as if several of the crewmembers thought the same, because he could hear their faint giggles.

The Unit made a quick turn and Shinji felt the impact of merciless gravity gripping after his innards to turn them upside down.

"Whooooooouooooooo…" he gasped as the Mech rushed through the lift-maze.

"EVA 01 reaching surface in district 5-22 in 5..4..3.." Maya stated ignoring his constant ooo-ing and had to laugh as he reached the surface.

"..oooo…"

"2.."

"..oooo…"

"1.."

"..oooo OOMPH!" ended his wild trip as his head snapped back into the seat and his jaws hit each other with a loud clicking sound. "Whoa… ever thought about selling this thing as a roller coaster?" he asked while he massaged his jaw.

"No, and now please concentrate on the enemy Shinji. EVA 01 lift off!" Misato answered and gave the final command.

Shinji noticed that the last safety bolts withdrew and the giant now had to stand on his own feet. Its shoulders shifted forwards but it stayed in balance.

In front of him just a few blocks away he saw the green smurf from earlier this day turning around to face him. From his new perspective it was ugly as hell. It has long arms, ending in clawlike hands with 3 fingers, strange bulky shoulders with the head lying between them at the chest of it. Its green and black pattern gave it a weird look as if it was wearing some kind of pajamas. But the by far ugliest thing about it was that its upper half was heavily burned from the N2-Mine earlier and that a seconds bird-faced head started to grow from beneath the first one.

The Angel seemed to notice the strange Giant but as far as Shinji could see it the Angel only stood there and looked at him, as if the Angel wasn't sure what to think about the new threat in front of him.

"Ok Shinji. Your synchronization is pretty good. Try to think about walking, and the EVA will walk as if it's your own body," Ritsuko explained to him and Shinji looked around. They both stood on a main street with several Skyscrapers around them. If he would start a fight with this thing in between them the resulting chaos and damage would be disastrous. 'Ok, first things first,' Shinji thought and tried to picture himself taking a careful step forward.

"Excellent! He can do it!" Ritsuko yelled excited as the Giant reacted without faltering or hesitation.

"Misato, I need more space! I can't fight in this place without severely damaging the surroundings and / or killing the inhabitants! Is there something like a park or an open field near my position?" he asked while he looked around.

"Maya? Is there an open space nearby his location?" Misato asked the girl and she already started to type some commands into her console.

"Yes! 3 miles down the street, he will reach the outskirts. They're currently uninhabited."

Shinji overheard the statement of the Techgirl and reacted without thinking.

"Shinji! What are you doing?!" Ritsuko gasped as the Unit leaned forward, as if it was taking position for a sprint and then dashed forward at the Angel.

"Just bringing along a friend." The boy replied while he ran towards the enemy.

The Angel raised his arms to stop the Mech but Shinji already counted on such a reaction and twisted the upper half of his newfound Body to screw himself into the arms of the Angel. The armor plates of his shoulders slammed into the Angel knocking it back with brute force. The green giant grabbed the Evangelion in an attempt to keep his balance with his weird bird faces blinking surprised.

"Oh no you won't!" Shinji snarled at it and pushed its arms away before the Angel could grapple him. "Now let's try this…" Shinji muttered and turned his arms around; pushing the Angels arms inwards and then gripping them both tight before he shifted his stance to throw his enemy over the shoulder of his EVA.

"What is he…" Maya started a question but stopped mid-sentence as her jaw hit the ground. The Evangelion bent backwards and then threw the Angel down the street where it crashed hard into the ground. Before it could get back on his feet again the Mech closed the distance and gave the Angel a brutal kick that it flew again.

"I can't believe this… He pilots the Evangelion as if he was born for it… Maya what's his synchro?" Ritsuko asked awestruck.

"Solid 78%. The Psychograph shows that he's perfectly calm. Stress level of the body is green. A bit worked up but nothing unusual for a fight." Maya gave a complete status report showing just how much confused she was.

"Unbelievable…" this time it was Misato that voiced her disbelieve of what she saw.

Gendo smirked. He expected the Unit to obey his son's commands at a very high ratio. But even he was amazed about the harmony between the two of them.

The bridge watched dumbstruck how Shinji kicked the Angel out-of-town, literally.

"Shinji! Watch it!" Misato yelled surprised as the energy level at the Angel started to increase rapidly. It fired a laser beam out of his eyes in a desperate attempt to gain back some control of the fight. It missed the Evangelion bit cut his power cable.

"Uh.. Ritsuko? I have a strange counter around me, care to explain what that means?" the surprised voice of the kid echoed through the bridge.

"You have 5 minutes left of internal power because the Angel cut the exterior power supply cable. You have to finish this quick Shinji or the EVA will run out of energy as soon as the counter hits zero!"

"Great, as if this wasn't already challenging enough. Well at least we're out-of-town. How can I kill this damn thing? Damn, it doesn't even have a neck I could try to break!" he asked calm and tried to analyze his enemy before him while fixating it on the ground with a grappling move.

"See the red orb at its chest? You have to smash it to kill the Angel! Use the progressive knife in your shoulder pylon!" Ritsuko suggested and watched with wide eyes as the boy drew the knife to do as told. She realized his mistake as soon as he let go of the Angel with his left hand.

"Watch it!" Misato yelped as the Angel twisted his arms in an unnatural position to get free while Shinji had his focus on the knife. With some effort it managed to push the Unit away and made it back on its feet. "Shit!" sounded his annoyed voice over the com as he tried to close in but the Angel had learned its lesson. With some unnatural twists it avoided the knife as Shinji thrusted it at its core and copied Shinji's very movements from the beginning. "What the…!" Shinji gasped as the Angel tried to break his balance with a quick shoulder slam right before it grabbed his arms. A strange gurgling sound occurred as it pumped them up as if they were filled with a liquid. Shinji groaned in pain as his left arm was twisted and the Angel tried to rip it off with all his might while he kept his right arm in check.

"Relax Shinji! What you feel are just phantom images of the damage the EVA receives. You will stay unharmed!" Ritsuko tried to calm him and leaned forward to look at Maya's monitors.

"Wanna switch places with me? That fucking hurts!" Shinji pressed through his gritted teeth as a reply before let his rage run wild. "Let go you fucking asshole!"

"His synch rate is rising!" Maya stated surprised and watched as it climbed over the 80% line, then 90… finally reaching 100%. "He's over 100%! Still rising!"

Ritsuko gasped as she looked at her monitors. "Shinji! Try to relax! Don't try to force yourself or you might reach a point of no return if your synch rate gets to high!" she tried to calm him. It was a theory that high amounts of stress could increase the bond between man and machine but seeing it proven right in front of her eyes was a shock for her.

"Uh-huh!" Shinji retorted pained and let loose a scream as the Angel changed its tactic and broke his lower arm instead of trying to rip it off. With a loud snap the bones of the Evangelion broke and the hand immediately let go of the progressive knife merely being dead way in its current state.

"FUUUUCK! Phantom images my ass! Fuck you! Care to explain why I can see my own fucking bones?! Are these phantom images too?!" Shinji snapped into the com and Maya switched the cockpit feed to the main screen immediately. The whole bridge stared at the live feed of his cockpit seeing how he hold his arm in pain, his hand dangling at a broken lower arm bleeding into the LCL. He had the same open fracture the Evangelion suffered from.

"Maya! Dampen the neural feedback transmitters immediately! Bring 'em down to 50%!" Ritsuko barked and the tech girl tried her utmost but the Unit refused the commands.

"It isn't working! Dr.! Look! He's over 100% synch now! EVA 01 refuses our signals! We can't help him…" Maya panicked with her voice cracking.

"Shinji! Get back to this coordinates immediately! Evacuate NOW!" Misato shouted and Maya reacted without any delay sending him the coordinates for his escape route.

"Negative Misato! If I run now the Angel will wreak havoc in our city. Please revoke your last command! You know as good as I do that our only option is to fight it now or we will have countless casualties." Shinji said while he tried to get rid of the Angel.

"Is this really a kid?" Maya whispered. "How can he assess the situation as calm as this while he is badly injured AND fighting at the same time?"

"You heard me young man! Evacuate, NOW!" Misato repeated her order but the commander overruled her.

"Order revoked. Shinji, kill it. We'll all die otherwise, so do it!"

Shinji coughed surprised, even forgetting his broken arm for a second as the cold, nearly emotionless voice of his father sounded through his cockpit. His father agreed with him? What the fuck? He couldn't remember when he took a critical hit so he was hearing things now all of a sudden.

"But commander!" Misato tried to object but Gendo only lifted his hand.

"Silence Captain. The assessment the boy did is correct. If he doesn't kill the Angel now it will destroy the city, and humanity along with it. Do you think we could repair unit 01 in time so it could fight it at another time? Don't even dare to object. And now do what you're here for and help the boy kill his target or get out of my sight!" he lectured her and fell silent again.

Misato took a deep breath before she looked at the situation. The progressive knife got hurled several meters away as the Angel broke the arm and the hand lost its grip on it as a result. "Shinji you have to get the knife. Or this will end badly for us!" she advised and the boy agreed.

"That's easier said than done Misato." He groaned in pain. With only one arm it was impossible to keep an upper hand and the Angel overpowered him. With a slight shift of its body it blocked Shinji's attempt to break free and its left arm shot forward to grab the head of the Evangelion. At ease it lifted the unit into the air and Shinji saw something glowing at the palm of its hand.

"Oh fuck… now it's getting comfortable in here…" was all the bridge heard from him as the Angel charged an energy lance that shot out of its palm repeatedly clashing with the armor of Unit 01's helmet.

"Shit that hurts… anybody an aspirin for me?" Shinji snarled as the lance started to break the armor plates. "Get..your..fucking…hands…OFF OF MEEEEEE!" Shinji roared and used his right foot to step on the knees of the Angel. With betting everything on this move Shinji propelled himself away from the Angel, finally breaking free of its grip. With an elegant loop the Evangelion landed on its feet and supported its balance with the remaining arm.

"Payback time…" Shinji growled pissed and searched for the progressive knife. It was nearly out of his reach, sticking into the ground a few meters behind the Angel but the boy didn't care for getting hit once or twice by the Angel if only he could get the knife back.

"Ever saw a move like this?" Aoba asked baffled as they saw a 60 meters tall giant doing a backflip as if it was an athlete despite the fact that it weighed several tons…

"Nope.. But it's one helluva flashy style the boy has…" Maya responded without being able to avert her eyes from the screen.

"Hey Angel! CATCH!" Shinji yelled, grabbed a car with his remaining arm and tossed it at the Angel. The enemy didn't care for the object and it hit his shoulder with no effect. It only blinked irritated, possibly trying to comprehend what his opponent was doing. "Ok so much for that. How about this?" the boy muttered and grabbed a double T-Girder from the near construction site.

"Whats he… Is he trying to throw this thing?" Misato asked confused as the EVA bend back, twisting its upper half to use the girder for a javelin throw at the Angel. With the muscles of the Evangelion the girder became a real threat and the Angel must have sensed it, because as soon as the girder closed in an orange hexagonal Field repelled it. Still the might of the impact was enough to bring the giant to fall.

"W..Whoa… Now THAT was a brilliant throw…" Shinji stated, amazed by the sheer power of his Unit.

"Shinji! Don't stand around like an idiot! MOVE!" Misato shouted and the boy flinched.

"Uh.. yeah, you're right!" came the answer. He sounded a bit ashamed. The Evangelion sped up as the boy tried to get past the Angel.

"Now Shinji! Leap forward! Get past that thing as fast as possible and grab the knife! You have a bit more than one minute left!" Misato advised him, trying to help him out.

"Yeah, yeah I know!" he retorted angrily. "Come on… Just a bit more!" Shinji muttered through his gritted teeth and leaped forward. But the Angel noticed his intentions and made a quick swipe downwards with its arm, ramming the Evangelion into the ground next to it as it tried to fly by. "GA-HACK!" Shinji gasped overwhelmed by pain as the fist, claw or whatever he should name it, of the Angel crashed into the back of his unit, slamming it into the ground. It felt as if a hammer hat hit him but it wasn't the only thing the Angel had up its sleeve. The Evangelion was still sliding cause of its momentum as the Angel already pursued it and grabbed the defenseless body with both hands lifting it above its head.

"Uh-oh… this doesn't look good." Misato whispered. With her eyes widened she saw how the Angel threw the Evangelion into the construction site where Shinji had grabbed the girder before. It crashed into the construction site shredding it to bits.

"Ooooh… that hurts… that hurts…" Shinji's voice sounded through the command bridge, merely an exhausted whisper, as he tried to wriggle him out of the ruins.

"Shinji! GET AWAY!" Misato barked as the energy level of the Angel started to rise exponentially. But it was too late. All they could do was watch as the Angel fired another laser beam attack at the Evangelion and this time it connected properly. Shinji's scream was deafening as the beam melted armor started to run down the body of his Unit, burning it merciless.

"Hull integrity critical! Energy level near zero. 15 seconds left!" Maya stated the situation and Misato tried to think of a way out for the boy. But all she could do was stand there and watch the last hope of humanity burn like a torch, listening to the pained screams of the poor kid piloting it. She wasn't surprised that he couldn't take it any longer and the screams ended abruptly as he passed out.

"Pilot critically wounded. Synch rate decreasing fast! Blood pressure decreasing rapidly too, brainwaves irregular…We.." she took a deep breath "..we're..we're losing him…" Maya announced Shinji's status while trying to suppress her upcoming panic and sadness. The live feed of the cockpit showed the boy floating unconscious in the LCL. The resolution was good enough to see several burns on his body that shouldn't have been there. It was pure mercy that he had lost consciousness.

"Do an emergency eject of the plug Maya!" Misato shouted desperate, tears running down her cheeks and the girl tried her best but the signal was refused again. "Impossible! Unit 01 isn't reacting to the signal! We.. We can't do anything!" she howled and slammed her small fists into her console.

Ritsuko couldn't help but sigh. She knew it was hopeless for the boy. Even if they would be able to rescue him… his body burned at several points; they didn't know how much of his skin got destroyed by it. And whatever injuries he suffered additional to what they could see over the feed. "Misato… Sorry…" she whispered and the Captain knew what that meant. She started to cry as she dropped to the floor.

"His life signs are getting weaker… internal energy depleted at 2.. 1.. Evangelion Unit 01 Offline. I repeat… Unit 01 went silent. All readings of the pilot have stopped," was the last thing Maya could say before she joined the black-haired woman and tears ran down her cheeks. Ritsuko patted her back. She knew it couldn't be real. The boy piloted the Mech with unseen skill but the result was what counted and he couldn't make it at the end. "We're all doomed…" a faint whisper from her, but loud enough so the crew would understand her. No one saw the smile on the face of the commander behind them.

"Wha…!" Maya suddenly gasped as the eyes of the Evangelion started to glow in an intimidating red. "It's active again?"

"Impossible! It's energy is depleted! Maya, how are the readings of the pilot?!" Ritsuko shouted surprised and couldn't believe her ears as the girl said that there were no life signs from him. "Is it going berserk?" she whispered and her eyes opened wide in terror as the Unit ripped off its jawlock and roared like a beast out of the depths of hell itself.

"Unit 01 is powering up completely. No readings from it so far. It's… It's out of control!" Maya shrieked closing in to a panic attack. As the rest of the crew she watched dumbstruck how the Evangelion destroyed the ruin that held it and got back on its feet. With incredible speed it dashed towards the Angel crouching like an animal and grabbed its arms with his remaining hand as it tried to raise them in defense. Holding both the arms crossed in its hand it turned around its hand and broke them right above the Angels wrists similar to what the Angel had done with the Evangelion minutes earlier. A sudden kick sent the Angel flying into another construction site, ripping its hands off at the wrist. The Evangelion simply threw them away as if they were common trash and rushed over to the Angel. With another fierce roar the EVA tried to bite the Angel but it reacted instinctively and the orange hexagonal field popped up again blocking the Eva's head. The Evangelion looked at this thing with narrowed eyes as if it was thinking about how to get rid of it. A quick glance at its destroyed arm followed shortly after.

"Whats it doing?!" Misato yelled confused as the Evangelion lifted its destroyed arm up and looked at it. It started to heal at an incredible speed, even restoring the broken armor around its wrist.

"Impossible!" Ritsuko whispered with fear. "Only an Angel is capable of rapid healing…"

"EVA 01 is creating an A.T. Field!" Maya announced and everybody watched the spectacle. "The wavelengths are adjusting to each other! Is it trying to break through the A.T. Field of the Angel?"

"No.." Ritsuko answered this one. She had seen through it nearly immediately. "Instead of trying to break through it with brute force, it's eroding the enemies A.T. Field, nullifying it," she watched the monitors that showed the wavelengths instead of watching the fight. As the wavelengths adjusted to nearly zero she looked up and saw hoe the EVA ripped away the rest of the field.

But the Angel wasn't stupid. It felt what his opponent was doing and as soon as it broke through his absolute defense it fired its laser beam from point-blank. It blinked irritated as the hit itself instead of the enemy.

"Unit 01 did what?" Ritsuko asked puzzled after Maya stated what had happened.

"I don't know how but at the moment the field broke down it coated the area directly in front of the Angel in a very dense A.T. Field of its own. I can only guess but it seems as if it formed something like a mirror with it, deflecting the beam back at the Angel, stopping the eroding of the Angel's field and localizing the explosion into the Angels own A.T. Field." Maya tried to explain what the data showed her.

Misato didn't understand a single word. All she could do was watch the scene in terror and hope. Hope, the cocky little brat would survive this somehow…

After the Angel had burnt itself heavily with its own laser attack the EVA simply swiped away its A.T. Field and started to hit its core. As its fists didn't do any damage it ripped of some of the strange rib like structures around the core using one of them like a cutter. Without holding back it started to hammer at the core with it and after some hits with the sharp rib cracks started to occur on the core. The Angel shrieked and suddenly wrapped itself around the Evangelion, holding its upper half in a tight embrace pumping up its own body as if some was inflating a balloon.

"SELF-DESTRUCTION?" Misato yelled not trusting her eyes. A mighty explosion shook the whole sector as the Angel exploded in one last attempt to take his enemy with it back into the depths of hell, leaving behind a crucifix-shaped pillar of light.

"Maya! How's the status of Unit 01!" Ritsuko barked impatient. If they lost this Unit Gendo would kill her. And THAT was for sure.

"No data available!" the girl responded immediately.

"So much for the almighty technology…" Aoba whispered and shrugged off Mayas glare of doom for his comment.

"Ritsuko! Look!" Misato gasped as the monitors picked up a shadow in the pillar of light. It slowly walked into the sight, out of the raging fires. It's once purple colored armor was now jet-black from the fire. As a Hero, emerging out of the collapsed building it walked away from the fire and then stopped to stand there in silent solitude.

"What kind of monster did we create…" Ritsuko whispered shaken by terror for real. The machine had powered up without being scientifically able to do so, shredded the Angel as if it was mere Childs play and even survived the Angels suicide attack as if it was a little breeze in the summer air…

"Of all people on this planet I would have thought that YOU would know this answer…" Misato whispered, keeping her eyes at the now silent giant.

"Operation successful. Commencing retrieval of Unit 01! Everybody dismissed." They heard the commander and before Misato could even say a single word he stood up and left the bridge using the elevator behind his table.

"You got to be kidding me…" she said with a low voice. "Isn't he his own son?"

"Captain Katsuragi, Dr. Akagi. Do everything you can to rescue the boy if possible! I can only delay him a mere 24 hours. If possible save the kid by then!" the second-in-command ordered, before he left too.

"At least there's one commanding officer left with some remaining sanity.." Aoba chuckled and everyone left on the bridge nodded in agreement.


	3. Chapter 2 - Surprises

**Chapter 2 - Surprises**

**5 Minutes earlier – Entry-Plug Unit 01**

"Shinji.. Shinji…" a female voice called out for him. It sounded familiar. But he couldn't remember it. He didn't want to remember it. All he wanted was finally losing his consciousness so he could rest in peace for a moment.

"Shinji… wake up!" the voice said, sounding impatient.

"Let me rest for a moment…" he said annoyed. At first he didn't even notice that his pain was gone. "Wait a second…" he gasped irritated and his eyes shot open. "Where am I?"

"In my core," a short answer came, being not really informative at all.

Shinji realized that he was stark naked and floating in a sea of LCL. As he looked around he saw nobody and nothing. "Umm… great. Now they've done it. Hurray for boobies, I've finally snapped and gone insane." He stated with his voice dripping of sarcasm.

The voice laughed a gentle, warm laugh. From where did he know this voice? "No. You're not insane Shinji. I saved your life, you were at death's door so I had to suck you into my core," she tried to explain but the boy didn't get it.

"Hearing voices, seeing delusions… wonderful. What's next?" he asked with biting sarcasm again and the voice sighed deeply.

"I guess we won't get anywhere if I don't show you what's going on, huh?" she said sounding a tad bit annoyed. "Maybe this will work better… turn around Shinji! Say hi to me in person."

Shinji spun around immediately and his jaw hit the floor. "Mu.. Mum?" he stuttered and stared in her warm, bright eyes. A faint smile on her lips she only stared back and opened her arms. She blinked disappointed as Shinji crossed his arms in front of his chest and took a step back.

"What are you?! My mum is dead!" he stated calm and suppressed the impulse to fly into her arms as if this thing was real.

"D'aww, come on now! It's me. And I'm not dead. I merely shifted my form of existence as I fused with the core of Unit 01 11 years ago Shinji. I guess your stupid father told you that I'm dead?" she stated and the question at the end made him laugh.

"Well at least my delusions think the same about my father as I do…" he muttered.

She sighed and shook her head. "You'll regret it if you go like this Shinji. Don't force me to show you what happened 11 years ago!"

"Cool… threatened by my own delusion… Didn't know that this is even possible." Shinji mused and laughed as the Copy of his mum growled angrily at him.

"You asked for it Son…" She said strict and laid her fingers at his forehead. Shinji yelled shocked as the images flooded his brain. He saw it… he saw it again, everything that happened 11 years ago. But this time it wasn't his point of view. "Do you believe me now kiddo?" Yui asked her son and this time he nodded speechless.

"B..But how?" he asked sheepishly and she smiled.

"I would need a whole week to explain that single question to you my dear son. And we don't have much time. To cut a long story short, what happened 11 years ago was under my full will and I wanted it to happen. I'm sorry that I couldn't warn you but it was necessary to even keep your father in the dark about this. And I'm, so to speak, pretty pissed about how he handled the things after I merged with Unit 01.

"How do you know about all this?" Shinji asked confused and she laughed.

"Well I'm part of Unit 01. Whatever it sees, I see as well. How you saved your little sister for example. I'm very proud of you about that by the way," she explained and Shinji needed a few seconds till her words began to sink in.

"Wait.. WHAT? Little sister?" he shrieked surprised and Yui chuckled amused.

"Yes. The blue-haired girl you rescued from a cruel fate today? It's your little sister. I know she looks pretty different. Well that's another story and we don't have time to go through this one. Especially not this one."

"Uh.. what happened, did we win?" Shinji asked and Yui raised her hand, forming the symbol for victory. "Puh… thank god…" he sighed relieved and looked irritated at her as she giggled.

"I like your attitude Shinji, very admirable and heroic. How you endured the pain of the deep connection between you and the Evangelion… If I would be a girl your age, I'd definitely fall for you!" she giggled and Shinji couldn't help but feel his cheeks redden.

"MUM!" he stated embarrassed only causing her to laugh again.

"But there's a catch…" she said and he felt that it was a big one as her mood changed completely from happy to sad.

"Err.. do I really want to hear it?" Shinji asked and she smiled a bit pained.

"You have to, because it will greatly affect you and your future. Your body… well… it died." She said and Shinji had the feeling as if he had to sit down.

"I guess you're not joking, huh?" he asked back, shocked about what she revealed.

"I fear so," she replied and took a deep breath. "Let me explain first ok? Please just listen and try to understand. We don't have much time so I'll have to safe you in one go."

"Ok.. I'll try my best."

"Good. So let's start. LCL isn't just a liquid that oxygenate your blood directly if breathed in; it's something like the primeval soup we all crawled out of. Normally you would be dead and decay after a few days. But because of the LCL your body got absorbed into it immediately as I intervened and saved your consciousness. The problem is, even being the primeval soup with my knowledge I can only restore your body to the state it was in, when I intervened," her explanations made sense to him. He could follow her so far.

"So that means, even if you CAN kind of restore me back out of this soup thing I would be at death's door again and eventually die anyways?" he tried to clarify her words for himself.

"Yes. Exactly. But there is another, uncomfortable and more complex way," Yui started and Shinji raised an eyebrow but didn't dare to interrupt her. "I can't explain it to you; but it would save your life in the end, restoring your physical being. If you want to take the risk and shoulder the consequences I can send you back. And we don't have much time left. You wouldn't believe it but time flies by pretty fast over here. Your fight with Sachiel took place almost 24 hours ago now Shinji. Unit 01 is back in the Hangar, and they are trying to bring you back somehow."

Something like a screen formed in the sea of LCL showing several machines being connected to a red orb right under the chest area of the Evangelion with Maya Ibuki and Ritsuko working at something while Misato wandered from left to right in front of the core and tried to convince it with words, as it seemed, to let go of Shinji.

"Is this…?" he started to ask and Yui nodded.

"Yes. This is what I see through my new eyes. Your new Guardian stated that their time is running out. It seems as if your father's second-in-command gave them 24 hours to get you back or not. If not they will reprogramm the Unit with a backup and because you're no part of this backup your active consciousness would vanish into the depths of this core. You have three options Shinji…"

The boy tried to comprehend what he heard. "So.. If I don't go back I will die anyways?" he asked and looked confused as she shook her head.

"No. In the beginning everything was one. You, me, your stupid father…" he chuckled at her remark about his father, "..everything. If you decide to stay here you will fade as an individual but become a part of a bigger consciousness. I can't explain it in words it's as if you're connected to everything and yet yourself is nothing. If your will is strong enough you can materialize as I did. That would be option one," she explained and Shinji nodded.

"Number two would be to go back to the state you were in before I rescued you. The whole NERV-staff is around us at the moment. Maybe, but it's only a maybe; they can save your life in time. It would be a great risk and I would set the chances around 10% that you'll survive till they can heal you," Yui continued and he could see clearly that she hoped he wouldn't go for this option.

"Doesn't sound appealing to me," he muttered and hid his smile as he saw relief flashing through her face. "So that leaves us with option three." He stated and she nodded.

"The last option is the safest but the consequences are dire for you my dear son. I can guarantee that you will survive and materialize without any harm taken. But…"

He saw that it pained her to offer this to him. Did he really care what would happen? What were his options exactly? He could stay here and vanish into nothingness. Or maybe stay somehow who he was and be still a prisoner in this core thing. Alternatively he could just be kicked out of this core and be as good as dead or, as last option suffer some unknown consequences for getting back alive and kicking?

"With dire you mean something like a mental disease or something?" he tried to clarify her words and his mood got a bit better as she shook her head.

"No, I can guarantee that there will be no injuries or diseases for you. But at the same time I can guarantee you that you will suffer at least once a month from anemia and other things coming along with it," she tried to answer his question.

"That's it?" Shinji asked irritated and his mother nodded faintly.

"Summed up… yes. That's it," she confirmed and Shinji shrugged with his shoulders.

"Ok, whatever. Sounds good to me. A little anemia is nothing compared to having a meager 10% to survive at all, don't you think?"

"I wished we had a little more time than this few hours… Forgive me that I couldn't bring you back faster…" she said and he felt tears welling up in his eyes because of the sadness in her voice.

"I have things to do Mum… Someone has to kick my father in his ass. And if we're both gone, who's left to do so? And don't forget Rei is my little sister. I would like to meet her and to learn more about her." Shinji said and his voice sounded nearly as sad as his mother's but she nodded agreeing. "I've missed you… and just when I found you we have to part again… It's not your fault… so please don't blame yourself for it. You helped me, saved me… and you're the one who can bring me back into the world I have to protect somehow from the madness of my father…" he said, his voice breaking.

"I know Shinji… I know. Don't worry. If everything's done, maybe we'll find a way to bring even me back, and your old body. And if not… oh well…" she paused a moment and sighed before she continued, "And believe me! I WILL find a way to give Gendo a good piece of my mind about what he has done. I'll always be here, all you have to do is to think of me and I will pay you a visit."

"Promise?"

"Promise…"

Shinji took a deep breath and steeled himself mentally for his final words."Good. Let's do it before these nerds out there flush my existence out of here."

Yui couldn't help it but laugh. Oh her son had become such a wonderful young man in only ten years… She sighed and nodded before she started to instruct him what to do. "Ok. Just relax and close your eyes. Let me handle the rest of it."

With closed eyes he could feel her soft lips on his forehead. A gesture he loved deeply when he was small. "I hope you will forgive me for my selfishness some day, Shinji…" he heard her whispering and opened his eyes again, but she was already gone, vanished back into the endless sea of LCL.

"What do you…?" he asked irritated.

"Shhhhh Shinji… close your eyes and relax," she whispered into his ear. Her voice calmed the chaos in his mind and he started to breathe slower. "Think of the People you've met so far. The nice and slightly chaotic Misato Katsuragi, the friendly and strict Ritsuko…" she made a small pause before she continued, "the injured Rei, who is your sister… even your stupid father with his cold and almighty attitude towards everyone. Imagine yourself among them… being a part of their society. Yes… Good boy…I love you.. Shinji" Shinji shivered as the warmth in her voice conveyed her feelings for him.

"I love you too mum… and thanks!" Shinji replied feeling sleepy and deeply loved. After the last word slipped from his lips he fell into a deep sleep.

**Hangar 01 – Maintenance Bridge EVA-01**

"Power it up, let's give it a try!" Ritsuko said tired and Maya suppressed a deep yawning as she nodded and typed a few quick commands into her console. They were working nonstop for almost 39 hours now and the fatigue was taking its toll on them. Even Misato with all her stamina went slowly from running around and cursing far worse than any pirate could have done it to silent pleas and sobbing in front of the core.

"The systems are working normal. Voltage is good. We.. wait a second! Am I seeing things? Senpai! Look! This…" Maya was at a loss for words. All systems started to go haywire at the same time.

Ritsuko rushed over to Maya to take a look at her readings and went pale.

"Oh no… Maya! Abort it! QUICK!" she yelled and the girl tried to do what she said.

"I can't… Plughatch is opening. LCL draining procedure initiated. Senpai I can't stop it…" Maya said weak as they watched the hatch opening. A stream of amber liquid shot out of the pod and the drainpipes around it, flushing all that was left of the pilot away with the liquid.

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" Misato shrieked with a high-pitched scream of despair as the LCL flowed out and the clothes of their lost pilot floated into arms her as she tried to stop the liquid with her very hands.

Ritsuko sighed and dropped her shoulders knowing that they had reached a deadend. They'd lost their only chance to bring the boy back as the system went haywire. "It's over Misato… We can't help him anymore… let him go…" she tried to comfort Misato. The woman cried heavily and Ritsuko sighed as she heard more sobs from her left. Maya started to cry too despite the fact that she didn't even know the kid except for some chatter over the com system.

"Senpai! Watch out!" Maya yelled and Ritsuko looked at her, puzzled for a moment about what she should watch out for as she heard a gurgling sound coming from the core. With wide eyes she watched as the core opened and spit out a body. Before she couldn't even react the body crashed into the two women sending them flat to the ground.

"Gyaaa!" Maya's voice echoed through the Hangar and Ritsuko looked irritated at the body next to her, after she had wriggled herself out of the human knot she had formed with the body, Misato and herself.

"Err… Now stick me in a dress and call me Sally…" Ritsuko whispered astonished as she examined the body. "Shinji? No… Who is this?" she mumbled shocked and noticed something odd about the person. "It… It can't be… YOU?" Ritsuko tried to comprehend what she saw. That was impossible! After all this time it was impossible! Absolutely impossible!

"YUI!" she heard a yell that made her heart skip a beat. She knew the voice very well. And she knew that this was bad for her. Commander Ikari rushed next to her and lifted the body from the ground. It really looked as if it was her, but Ritsuko had the feeling that something was off about her.

She never had hair as long as down to her legs and she was pretty sure there weren't any purple highlights in it last time too. With tons of doubts she watched as Gendo rushed away with his unconscious wife in his arms.

**2 Hours later - NERV-HQ Infirmary**

"Is this really her?" the old man asked while he studied the face of the girl in the medical tube.

"Who else can it be? Look at that face! Don't tell me you wouldn't recognize your own student anymore Fuyutsuki! You're not THAT old!" the other one snapped at him and stared at the object of his desires.

"Well for starters she is remarkably younger than she's supposed to be Gendo. Her hair-color differs too. And even if you don't want to hear this… look closely. Her face is a bit too narrow for her." The second-in-command stated and ignored the angry glare Gendo shot at him for disturbing his delusions.

"Gentlemen… If I may disturb, I have the results from our tests. And that's definitely not Yui Ikari." Ritsuko said calm right as she entered the room. She knew the commander would hate her for the results anyway. "But it's not Shinji either. She possesses only one-quarter of your DNA, 50 percent belong to Yui Ikari and the last quarter is not human." She clarified and looked at the sleeping girl.

"Explain," Gendo said and his voice was as cold as ice.

Ritsuko flinched but managed to stay composed. She had herself ready for a ferocious attack by him already and flinched more because his nonviolent reaction surprised her than his inflection scared her. "As far as we can assume it Shinji got absorbed into the core of Unit 01. Because his mothers essence still lingers in there I guess after decomposing into LCL there was a mixture of Yui Ikari, Adam and you. You know the basics of genetics yourself. So after he…" she corrected herself, "..she materialized out of the LCL I assume that she took in the mixture resulting in a new combination of genes. The result, as you can see in front of you, vastly varying from the original Shinji Ikari we know. To be honest it's a miracle how he.. she was able to come back and don't even start about remixing the genes. But for closure I can definitely state that she's not Yui Ikari. What you can see is the new Shinji Ikari. Or.. well I think you might start thinking about a name for your new daughter. The results state that he is now a fullfledged female with primary and secondary reproductive organs. He's now a girl straight down to the molecular level. Sex-determining chromosomes, pheromones.. simply everything." Ritsuko ended her monologue. She noticed that Gendo gritted his teeth in disappointment and thought he might snap any moment now but somehow he calmed down pretty fast and turned his back at the tube.

"You said one-quarter of ITS genes consists of Adam?" he asked, stressing the "it" as if he was talking about some aberration. "What does that mean? Is it dangerous? Is it an Angel?" He didn't see Fuyutsukis face as he spoke and it was for the better. The old man frowned as he addressed the poor kid as a thing, even asking if he might be dangerous. He couldn't believe just how much of his humanity this man had lost while pursuing the lost case of his wife.

Ritsuko flipped through some charts on her tablet before she answered. "No. The pattern's not blue. She's a normal human as far as we can tell. But the purple highlights in her hair are something strange."

"Explain!" again a cold, emotionless command.

Ritsuko couldn't believe that he really didn't care at least a tiny little bit about what had happened to his son. "I can't at the moment. We're still trying to comprehend what it is. All I can say at this very moment is that they match the DNA of EVA 01 with a ratio of nearly 99.9%. If I had to guess and you know I would rather die than make a wild guess, I would say that somehow some parts of the Evangelion merged with her hair. For example… No. Here, take this scalpel and try to cut the hair," Ritsuko suggested and Gendo looked at the tool in her hand as if a slave offered its king a slice of bread. She sighed after a moment and approached the medical tube to lift up a strand of the girl's purple hair. With the scalpel she tried to cut it but to the complete surprise of the two men she could cut as much as she wanted, the tool with the sharpest blade existing in the infirmary wasn't able to cut off a single hair. "See what I mean?" she asked and both nodded. "So the question left is what do we do with her? Keep her confined? Quarantined? Waking her up?" Ritsuko asked and Gendo looked at his new daughter with a disgusted expression.

"How will it affect our Agenda?" There it was the one and only question that Ritsuko had feared.

"Unknown at the current time," she answered with a mere whisper.

Gendo sighed and turned towards his new daughter. "Dismiss him as soon as the security checks are done and bring him to my office." He said while he massaged his temples. This was a huge setback for him and with Shinji looking like his mother in her teens wouldn't make it easier for him to pursue his goals. What the hell happened in this goddamn machine? "Fuyutsuki… you'll handle this. If it needs a new name, so be it. List my useless son as KIA." Was his last order before he turned around and left the infirmary, ignoring the Captain who was waiting in front of the room. She was waiting for the allowance to enter it.

"Well… that went better than I'd expected." Ritsuko muttered and Fuyutsuki nodded agreeing.

"Indeed. But this was really unexpected. I wonder why this happened… Maybe it's some godsend punishment for him?" The old man mused and Ritsuko just listened.

"Who knows… But I don't think we will be able to hide this for long. If we're lucky they won't find it out before the next Angel arrives. But after this... there's no chance that it can be covered anymore.

"Ha.." the old man agreed and gently swiped a strand out of the girls face. "He had always pretty female features… but to actually see him as a girl brings me back to my days as a Professor… I saw several pictures of Yui when she was in Highschool… He could be her twin." Fuyutsuki said while he took a trip down the memory lane.

"Indeed. But I think we might have a more imminent problem at the moment." Ritsuko replied and smirked as the old man raised an eyebrow. "Well… who's going to tell him that he's a she now? I presume a high possibility of a mental breakdown if we don't handle this carefully."

"Let the Captain handle this. It seemed as if she had a good connection to the bo..girl." he corrected himself and then cracked a short amused smile. "This is annoying somehow."

Ritsuko laughed. "Well that's acceptable I guess. You don't see something like this every day. OK so let's call her in before she starts scratching the door." Ritsuko said smiling as the second-in-command raised an eyebrow and flinched after he followed her finger-pointing at the door. A strange deformed grimace was visible, reminding a little bit of the Captain. She flattened her face against the glass of the door to take a peek what took them so long. Fuyutsuki laughed as Ritsuko pressed a button on her tablet and the door slid open, making Misato fall flat on her face as the wall she had leant against vanished. With a muffled "Ow!" she crashed into the room.

"Damn Ritz! That was mean…" Misato pouted while she got herself back on her feet, massaging her nose. "How is Shinji doing?" she asked curious and took a glimpse at the boys' female body. "What did the commander say? Is everything alright? When will he be back on his feet again? Is this gender thing permanent?" she showered the two of them with questions and Fuyutsuki laughed before he patted her shoulder.

"She's still sleeping. We will wake her soon and because it seemed as if you shared something like a bond with Shinji we would like you to handle this situation. Ritsuko says that there's a high chance of her suffering a mental breakdown if this isn't handled with kid gloves. The commander ordered me to handle this situation. As you can guess he isn't very amused and as cold-hearted as he is he declared his son KIA."

Misatos eyes opened wide like plates. "This damn asshole! Get him back here and I will share a serious piece of my mind with him!" she started to rage and Ritsuko sighed.

"Calm down Misato. Don't tell me you didn't expect something like this."

"What do you mean?! Calm down?! Can you even imagine how Shinji will feel if we tell him that his OWN father listed him killed in action?!" she raged on and already wanted to rush out of the room in pursuit of the commander as old man Fuyutsuki laid a hand on her shoulder and shook his head. "Everything at its designated time Misato. We will take care of this soon enough. The girl's more important now than Gendo's ill-mannered whims!" he said calm and Misato relaxed a bit, her fists still clenched.

Fuyutsuki looked at the sleeping beauty and smiled gently. "You will wake up our princess here and then we will see what's next. If necessary we can register her under a new name, if she wants to. If not, nothing will change. Well.. Except for the obvious things I guess," he scratched his head as if something was missing but he couldn't grasp it now.

"Listen, Misato, after the sedation starts to fade its important that you'll repeatedly tell him that everything's fine. Try to keep him calm by using.." Ritsuko started to instruct her but Misato interrupted her.

"Yeah, yeah Ritz. Stop treating me like a fool. I'll handle this MY way." Misato snapped at her and the Blonde shook her head, deeply sighing.

"I already anticipated you might say this…" she retorted and handed her a sheet with some notes how to handle panic attacks. She knew her well enough to see that she wasn't in the mood to reason with her right now. "But if you'll find yourself in a pinch try using this. I would appreciate it if I would not have to take care of the boy's mental state because of your clumsiness."

"I love you too Ritz." Misato shot back and Fuyutsuki snickered.

"Ok girls… I have to go back now. Do me a favor and try not to fight too much in front of the kid, alright?" he chuckled and the two women nodded with red cheeks like some scolded middleschoolers. "Good girls…" he added amused and left.

"I'll have to return to Maya. As far as I remember it she's sleeping in my office. I should wake her and send her home already. I'll tell the staff to change her into a normal bed and room. She will wake up pretty soon without a follow-up sedation." Ritsuko said after the second-in-command had left and inspected Misato with a lifted eyebrow.

"What?" the woman asked and the fatigue in her voice gave away how dead tired she must have been.

"I'm concerned about your own condition Misato. We can wake her in a few minutes or in a few hours if you want to take a little nap before doing it," honest worries sounded in her voice and Misato snickered tired.

"Well thank you Ritz. I never thought that you of all people would be concerned about me."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Ritsuko asked offended but couldn't stay angry for long. She saw that her old friend just tried to avert her eyes from her condition with a bad joke.

"Really Ritz, I'll handle this and take a good night's sleep afterwards. It's the least I can do to atone for what we have done to this poor kid," she played it down and sighed. "I hope he will take it in without freaking out too much. And… isn't this one of the big fantasies of all adolescent boys anyways?" she mused snickering as Ritsuko only face palmed at this comment.

"I can't believe what you just said.." she muttered and left the room to stop at the door for a moment. "Ok. I'll handle the sleeping girl in my office, you the one in the infirmary. Good luck!"

"Hey.. Shinji.. thank you for coming back alive…" Misato whispered into the ear of the girl, kissing her on her forehead and left the room to let the staff take care of the girl as Ritsuko had instructed them.

**1 Hour later – NERV-HQ Infirmary Room 12**

"Ugh…" a soft groan announced her slowly awakening and Misato lifted her head. She sat next to the bed on a chair, the small hand of the girl in her own, napping a little bit. "Umm…" another silent groan and Misato blinked away the sleep. A quick look at her watch showed her that she neared the 48 hours of being on her feet without some sleep.

"Hey Shinji! Wake up, sleepy head…" she whispered and happiness flooded her tired brain, washing the desire to sleep away. She gently stroked his cheeks and smiled as the girl seemed to react to the gesture by snuggling into her palm.

"Jus a lil longr, mum…" the girl mumbled and Misato smiled gently. A warm, fuzzy feeling filled her as the mum echoed in her thoughts.

"Yeah…" Misato replied and rested her head on the bed again just to made a jump as the girl opened her eyes and tilted her head to look at her.

"Mi..sato..?" came the insecure question and Misato guessed that the sedatives still running through her blood were clouding her mind.

"Yes, Shinji?" she asked calm as the girl shook her head to clear her mind.

"Where.. am I?" was her next question and Misato couldn't help but hug her and pat her head. She looked and sounded so lost.

"You're alive… that's all what's important now!" she replied and the girl rested her head on her shoulder. "Feels good eh?" Misato asked grinning and her heart skipped a beat in pure joy as the girl agreed with a soft yes. Her voice was soft, feminine and when she spoke it sounded like a soft breeze. They stayed like this for a few minutes and Misato savored the warmth of the girl and the thought of being a maternal help to her. As the sedatives slowly faded her consciousness came back and Misato suppressed a deep sigh as the questions started that she couldn't answer as easily as the one before.

"I must have been out for a while… look at my hair, it has grown like hell!" she said and held up a jet-black strand of her silky hair. "Even my voice sounds strange…"

"To be honest you were out for only 48 hours. Shinji.. there.. you had an accident with your Evangelion," Misato said calm and sat right next to the girl on the bed pulling her into her arms.

"AccidEEEP.." she gasped as the woman pulled her into her arms. It was a nice feeling. Misato smelled like lavender and somehow it soothed his mind. Shinji tried to resist, but the sureness of her and his confused mind rebelled against his manly impulse of embarrassment and he gave in, letting her hold him like a mother would. His chest felt strange as if something was between it and her body that wasnt supposed to exist but he was still to groggy to care about it.

"Yes. Do you remember anything from the fight with the Angel?" she asked and the girl frowned as she tried to remember what happened.

"Hm… I fought it, tried to get the progressive knife and it got me good while I tried to leap past it. I don't remember what happened after it fried me with this weird laser beam though. I.. I had a dream… a strange one and next thing I remember is waking up here." she answered honest and Misato nodded.

"Yes. So let me fill in the blanks for you. After you got.. fried, as you called it, we lost all contact to your Unit. As far as the protocols state it your power supply depleted a few seconds after you got fried. Exact 30 seconds later EVA 01 awakened again under unknown conditions to go berserk. It defeated the Angel in a fierce battle ending in the total destruction of the sector as the Angel made a suicide attack and exploded only to proof that you were right to change the location of the battlefield into an uninhabited one."

"Wow…" was all the girl could say as it sank into her mind what that meant. "The whole sector?"

"Yeah. You saved several thousand citizens, be proud of yourself," Misato added and stroke her shoulder 'She has such a soft skin…'. "But in the process the Evangelion swallowed you somehow."

"Wait. Toll on me? What do you mean?" the girl asked irritated, interrupting her explanation.

"Well I can't say for sure what happened but it seems as if you got absorbed by the Evangelion. Your physical body wasn't there anymore when we reconnected to Unit 01 and the cockpit feed. We tried our best the last 24 hours to get you out of it and as we finally succeeded we were pretty confused as we saw what toll the fight had taken on you," she tried to make an attempt from direct side. She had prepared a hand mirror in her pocket and took a deep breath before she pulled it out and opened it. "Well… you could say that you're living the fantasy of millions of adolescent boys now…" she said and the girl tilted her head to give her a confused look.

"What do you… oh my god…" she started and gasped as Misato hold the mirror in front of her face so she could see her own face. "So this was what she meant…" the girl started but stopped suddenly as she looked at her narrow hands and then down at her body. The small B-cup that decorated her once manly chest wiggled as she touched it. "That are..." she looked forth and back between her naked chest and the hand mirror. "And… down… here?" Misato felt the agony in her voice down to the core as she lifted the blanket from her thighs and took a good look at what she had down there, or… so to say.. at what was missing. A sharp cry echoed through the room as the girl realized that something essential wasn't there anymore before she fainted.

"I knew this would happen…" Misato sighed depressed and patted the head of the now unconscious girl in her arms. "Poor kid…, thats a huge shock for you, huh?" she mumbled sleepy. The warmth of the kids body started to eat away at her will to stay awake and the comfortable bed wasn't really a great help either. "Oh whatever… just a few minutes…" Misato whispered and closed her eyes.

"Nng…" a silent mumbling caught her attention, waking her up. She had slept several minutes since the girl fainted.

"Back again Shinji?" she asked tired and the girl nodded after a few while, taking another peek under the blanket just to see the same. A deep sigh crawled out of her small lips as she tilted her head to look the older woman into her eyes.

"This isn't a bad dream, isn't it?" she asked and Misato shook her head, she saw the silent pleading in the girls eyes but she couldn't help her.  
>"No. It's for real. We can't explain it nor can we promise to change you back at all. All we… all I can do is trying to help you getting used to your…" she paused and thought about the correct word, "circumstances."<p>

"Thanks… I guess," the girl stated emotionless and rested her head on Misato's shoulder. "Damn if I had known that this would happen I would have demanded more out of the old fart before entering this thing." Shinji growled, the voice weak and frightened instead of angry. He managed to suppress the upwelling tears in his eyes as long as possible but at the end he couldn't contain them anymore.

Misato chuckled as Shinji mentioned how her male version had made a fool out of their beloved commander and nearly missed the strange intonation in her voice. "Calm down my dear. Everything's fine. Look at the bright side, your still alive, you saved thousands of people and you displayed an unseen level of piloting skills. Try to overlook the small details like a sudden gender swap, or being beautiful as hell, having wonderful and silky long hair, stylish highlights and a body others would murder for," she tried to cheer the kid up a little bit, but the girl was way over the point where she could be calmed down merely by words. Misato felt her silent sobs as they shook her body and hated her job. Of course she knew that as a commanding officer the day would come where she had to console one of the children piloting the massive Evangelion Units but all her social skills and other training proved to be pointless in a real situation like this one. "Shhhhh… Everything will be alright… I'll be there for you…" she whispered, relying on her instinct and kept the girl in a tight hug. She flinched as the girl started to cry bitterly and was at a loss for words how to calm her down. All she could do was sitting next to her, hugging her and giving her all the maternal warmth she could as desperation and terror shook the petite body.

It took nearly an hour till the sobs got weaker and the tears finally stopped. "It's alright Shinji. We'll help you as good as we can, promise… And just think about this… you have the unique chance to experience youth from both male and female sides! Now if that's not something amazing!" Misato tried it again with teasing her.

"Wanna switch places?" finally she gave a faint retort and Misato grinned. If the personal sense of humor showed up the kid reached the necessary insight of the situation to get used to it wihtout further panic attacks.

"That's the Shinji I know. Oh.. by the way young missy! We have to talk about your habit of sleeping stark naked at foreign places. Just imagine a good-looking boy would have visited you while you were sleeping? We girls can't display our bodies in broad daylight like this ya know?" she continued her teasing and earned a soft punch in her ribs as a reward.

"Ouch. Hey, no hitting your commanding officer!" she laughed and stroked the girl's hair. Deeply relieved that the poor kid seemed ok for now she ruffled her hair and kissed her forehead before she got out of the bed.

"Wh.. where'er you going?" the girl asked sheepishly and Misato couldn't help but hug her again. "Awww come on. You're a big girl right? You can rest alone for a while in this infirmary, can you?" she said and Shinji nodded. "See? And for starters don't you think we should get you some fitting clothes? Or do you want to tell me you would like to wear your old ones? I wouldn't like to see this wonderful figure of yours wearing some boys' underwear…" she giggled and the Girl on the bed started to knit her eyebrows. "I think frills would fit you wonderfully…" Misato mused and jumped back as the girl growled and tried to hit her again.

"GET OUT!" she yelled angrily and Misato laughed as she fled the room escaping the girls' wrath.

"Haaaa…." Shinji sighed deeply as the door closed and he was all alone. He couldn't believe this. Neither was he the type to cry easily nor embarrassed over little things as underwear. The only way he could explain his strange behavior was because of the changed body. Apropos changed body… he took another look under the blanket and from a boys perspective it was fascinating. He had boobs, a slender waist with soft, white skin and his best friend was gone too. He studied his new places a bit and touched them softly, shivering as his finger slid over a certain spot between his legs. His eyes widened as he felt getting aroused by touching himself between his legs and shook his head. Ignoring the upwelling feeling he let his hand glide back at his side and closed his legs ostentatious. It seemed as if Misato wasn't totally wrong with what she'd said earlier. Somehow this really seemed like a wet fantasy of an adolescent boy. "Great… thanks mum." He mumbled annoyed and tried to stand up only to find out that his new bodies balance was different from his old one. "EEP!" sounded a cute, high-pitched yell through the room as he fell straight on his face. "Ouch… that hurt," he growled while rubbing his chin.

"Damn! Since when was I a fan of crying about every little thing?" he scolded himself and slapped his cheeks as he felt another wave of tears welling up. "Come on. Get yourself together. FUCK! This is a serious pain in the ass!" he cursed his current state and fought his way back on his feet. With both arms outstretched like an artist he kept his balance and started to take short, careful steps to get used to this new feeling. His hips moved in a different way, the center of his balance seemed shifted and his back moved in a different way too. It took him a few minutes to get used to it and he started to test this body. Sit-ups felt a bit weird because of his new breasts, but his stamina didn't seem affected at all. Jumping felt strange both ways, he felt a lot lighter than before, but again the breasts threw him off. Warming up his muscles felt tiring, running in circles was the same as always.. Time flowed by as he tried several things with his new body from simple workout to some complex martial arts movements. The more he tried out the more his frustration did grow too, because this new body couldn't keep up with his old. Last but not least he tried Push-ups but he was too tired already and his arms seemed to lack the strength to support him as they did in the past. He only managed to do seven before he collapsed, heavily breathing.

Of course Ritsuko had to pay him a visit as he rested on the ground in full length being stark naked, one arm under his body and heavily panting.

"Oh.." she said surprised and stopped right under the door. "Wouldn't have thought that you would start THAT so soon…" she added irritated and wanted to leave again as the girl on the floor convinced her otherwise.

"Stop.. hah..hah.. it's..hah.. not what you.. hah.. think…" she said, heavily breathing and rolled herself on her back.

"Care to explain?" Ritsuko asked with an eyebrow slowly crawling upwards to her forehead.

"I.. hah.. tried.. to test… hah..hah.. my.. stamina.." the girl tried to answer her request and then sighed disappointed. "Damn…huff.. this body.. phew… is weak…" she tried to steady her breathing and slowly gained control over herself again.

"Well of course it is. We measured that you have lost at least 40 pounds with a huge part of it being muscles because of your gender swap." Ritsuko stated in full scientist mode and the girl couldn't help but laugh. "Did I say something funny?" she asked irritated and Shinji tried to gasp for air as he helplessly laughed.

It took a few moments for him to get back his composure. "Sorry Ritsuko but I think that's too much for me… I nearly die in your invention from hell, vanish into a dreamlike dimension inside this strange machine, get back somehow with nobody knowing how, waking up in an infirmary being a girl, the only thing that would have shocked me more would have been if my father had tried to comfort me. And then you're showing up telling me that I found the most successful diet ever? Wonderful. I love it! Where can I sign the form for a free ride to an asylum?" the boy asked and Ritsuko had a hunch that he or she.. whatever.. was nearing a mental breakdown. She noticed the short comment about a dreamlike dimension but decided to investigate this later, after the boy got a bit more stable.

"Calm down Shinji. Getting hysterical wouldn't help you at all right now. And please go back into your bed. The cold floor isn't exactly the best place for a young girl in her birthday suit." She tried to reason with him.

"Ok, ok." Shinji giggled and got back on his feet after he calmed himself down with some deep breaths. "I hope you bring along some ideas how to change me back?" she asked and Ritsuko sighed in her thoughts. She saw the hopes in the sapphire blue eyes of the girl and she knew they would shatter with her answer.

"No. As it seems now there is no way of changing you back." She stated and destroyed the girls' hopes in an instant. With hanging shoulders she sighed depressed and looked at her small hands.

"And what am I supposed to do now? Let me hear the suggestions of the almighty scientist Ritsuko Akagi…" she asked herself depressed and Ritsuko frowned. Her emotions were unstable, she expected as much but to switch from jokingly cheerful to depressive emotionless was a clear sign for serious psychological problems.

"I have no suggestions. As you surely can imagine I'm as clueless about how or why you got changed as you. I can enlighten you about your current state and what you are now if you want. But I can't explain it to you." She answered calm, trying to avert the girls attention and nodded as the kid seemed to calm down. Frustration flashed through Shinji's face as she looked up to her.

"Go on.. What am I?" she whispered and Ritsuko thought carefully about the words she would choose.

"We finished analyzing your situation and I can say with an accuracy of 100% that you are a full-fledged female down to the chromosomal level. Somehow your whole molecular structure got changed. For example tissue-samples show that your protein strings are…"

"Please Ritsuko… I don't have a degree in biology… can't you explain it for normal kids?" the Girl interrupted her sounding tortured. "Or if it helps think of me as if I'm a stupid monkey or something. If you go on like this I'll only get a headache…"

"I see your tongue didn't change…" she stated irritated and the girl laughed.

"At least something of me remained the same you mean?" he asked and Ritsuko noticed the dangerous trap in her question immediately.

"No. You are still you. The soul defines the person, not the body. The body is just a tool for interaction. So to speak you simply changed the tool that aids your existence. Please refrain from thinking stupid questions like "Who am I?" or "What am I?". From the scientific point of view you are Shinji Ikari, a 14-year-old boy who experienced a terrible accident and is now a 14-year-old girl. It won't change your memories, character or patterns of behavior."

"I see…" she whispered and it sounded a little less agonized than before. "So everything that has changed is the outer appearance of me you say?" he asked and Ritsuko nodded. "So there wouldn't change anything else at all? Everyone will see me as Shinji Ikari and nothing else?" he added and Ritsuko missed the trap this time as she nodded. "Bullshit! I'm a girl! A GIRL! LOOK!" he shouted and tossed away the blanket spreading his legs to give her a full display of his crotch. "How am I supposed to attend school? HOW am I supposed to live my daily life?! FUCK IT! Even my CLOTHES won't fit me anymore! HOW am I supposed to behave?! HOW AM I FUCKING SUPPOSED TO LIVE LIKE THIS AT ALL!?" he snapped completely and Ritsuko took a step back because the girl emanated an intimidating, violent presence. The pilots were usually trained for their own fitness so they could handle huge amounts of stress while piloting an EVA. In Shinji's case she knew he must have taken lessons about some martial arts too. Even without the necessary muscles of a man to use brute force being the center of his rage if he couldn't control his actions was still dangerous.

"Please calm down Shinji. There's no need to snap because of your body.." she started only to add oil into his already burning fire.

"FUCK YOU! Da hell I'll calm down! Stop talking as if I were a stupid toddler! You said I can't go back anymore! Do you have any idea what that means for me? My whole life is.." the girl paused as she struggled for the words. "..gone! Everything's gone! Because of your fucking machine! And all you're telling me is calm down everything's fine? I can't go back to my home anymore because nobody would recognize or even believe me there! "Oh hi there, it's me, Shinji! Hey guess what? I'm a girl now. Yeah long story of piloting a weird machine against an alien, getting mangled, fried and twisted oh and gender swapped! Great isn't it?" WHO WOULD BELIEVE THIS SHIT!?" the girls rage started to reach a critical point and all Ritsuko could do was to listen to her. She knew every word she could say would cause a disaster no matter what it might be. The kid was in a critical phase of accepting his circumstances and needed to vent his anger somehow to keep his sanity.

"Ritz! What da hell is going on in here?!" Misato asked shocked as she stormed in with a few bags in her hands blushing as her eyes met with the girl's crotch. "Oh my…" she whispered and rushed over to her, covering her body with the blanked and giving Ritsuko an angry glare before the Blonde couldn't even answer.

"I answered a few questions." Ritsuko explained deadpan and Misato felt the violent shaking of the girl next to her. Her eyes were glowing with rage and she was pale as a ghost, emanating a pure aura of anger. "Then she started to snap." The Blonde added and the calm, stating voice alone was enough to let the shaking girl in Misato's arms clench her fists.

"Shhhhh… calm down Shinji… calm down…" Misato whispered gently and laid her right arm around her shoulder while she covered one of the girls fists with her left hand. "For Gods sake what have you asked? I could hear her voice in the elevator!" Misato asked the Scientist with angry eyes and gritted her teeth as she only shrugged.

"Nothing unusual in my eyes." she answered still shrugging. She gave Misato a Handsign as the girl in her arms closed her eyes for a moment to prevent some tears of rage.

"Is there something specific you wanted from Shinji, Ritz?" She asked the Blonde, giving her a sign with her eyes that she understood her and would take care of the girl.

Ritsuko sighed and nodded. She seemed to have a better connection to the boy than she had anticipated. "We're through with the tests. All that's left is the psychological test. If she passes it we can dismiss her out of the infirmary. Oh and the commander wanted to have her sent to his office as soon as she's out of here," Ritsuko stated her business and shrugged with her shoulders as Misato raised an eyebrow.

"Who will do the test?" she asked curious and felt the girl in her arms flinch as the Blonde pointed at herself. "Hooo, the head scientist herself? Amazing." Misato chuckled and gave her friend a wink that she would take care of the situation.

"Indeed." Ritsuko agreed playing along, giving Shinji a last once over before she left the room.

The girl growled deeply and Misato needed half an hour to calm her down. "Care to explain what happened, dear?" Misato asked gently as the girl stopped shaking and leaned against her, being tired.

"I guess.." she started and shook her head. "No.. I KNOW that I've overreacted" Shinji confessed sheepishly and looked down at the blanket in embarrassment. "She tried to explain something to me but all this scientific mumbo-jumbo made me mad till I couldn't help it anymore but to snap," her cheeks glowed in a bright red.

"Haaa… Well I'm glad that you can grasp this without my help. Please Shinji we're all trying to help you. Even Ritz. I know it's hard to believe but under all that scientific gibberish resides a nice and caring personality. That's why she's doing the psych-test and not someone else. She can… bend things if it's necessary so we can get you out of here as soon as possible ya know?" Misato explained while stroking the girl's shoulder gently.

"I know Misato, but it's too much… I think like I'm losing my sanity here. I mean I die, I get sucked into the core of the Evangelion meeting my mum or her ghost or whatever, telling me that she could sent me back if I wanted to and after waking up here I have to comprehend that I'm a girl now. Who am I? What am I? Ritsuko said it's stupid to ask myself these questions. But I can't stop asking these stupid questions since I opened my eyes. Am I a Girl? Am I a Boy? Or am I dead and this is hell? If not wouldn't I be better off with actually being dea.." Before she could finish her sentence a slap echoed through the room.

"Ugh…" Shinji groaned and looked at her guardian with widened eyes. Tears were welling up in the eyes of the older woman and Shinji could clearly see rage and fear burning in them.

"Don't you even dare saying out loud such bullshit!" she hissed at him. "You're far too young to talk like this. Get yourself together Shinji! We KNOW it's hard for you. We KNOW you're confused and fuck, even scared to death! But that's no excuse to think about suicide! Ritsuko and Maya worked without any sleep to get you back! Do you really want to thank them with killing yourself just because your body changed a bit? And who cares? Is there even a single Person besides US at NERV, who don't care if you're male or female, that you've met in this city? You can start anew as if nothing ever happened! At least TRY to do so. And if it doesn't work… Damn we can still think about other stuff if it comes to this! But don't run away right at the beginning," she lectured him harshly.

Shinji was shocked to the core but it hit a spot. Deep inside Shinji he knew what she said was true and a part of him that had been strangely passive since he woke up roared in the depths of his very soul. It frustrated him that a simple slap hurt like hell. That his muscles were gone and he had to relearn his martial arts with this new body. But whatever happened he never sulked before. She was right… These thoughts were like poison, desecrating his mind and trying to kill him. He had to shut them out somehow, getting them out of his mind.

"Thank you…" the girl whispered meek and Misato sighed.

"I'm sorry Shinji… didn't mean to hurt you. But I hope you understand how dangerous these thoughts are. For you and at the end even for us. What would we do if you decided to commit suicide while fighting an Angel? We would lose a friend, pilot and Evangelion all at the same time. And if the Angel would survive your suicide we would lose humanity at a whole. Please refrain from saying such things. If possible don't even think them. If you had said something like this in your psychological evaluation Ritz would have dropped dead to the ground. It's something she can't overlook or cover up."

"Yeah…" another meek reply and Misato gave her a once over. No she wasn't scared of her. If at all the slap had rattled her out of her mental cage.

"Awww come here… Damn you're so fucking cute right now! I can't stop hugging you!" Misato pulled her leg hugging her tight and the Girl growled at her but it sounded only halfheartedly.

"I don't know why but I'm feeling a lot better if you're around Misato… Thank you," the girl whispered and the woman felt relieved that she couldn't see the happy smile creeping on her face from ear to ear.

"Can I ask you something Shinji?"

The girl in her arms tilted her head to look at her. "Sure."

"You said that you had a dream where you met your mother. What did you mean?" Misato asked carefully.

"Dunno… Just a dream I guess." The girl answered her question keeping her eyes closed. It sounded as if she didn't want to talk about it and Misato decided to drop the issue for now. Shinji sighed and her eyes wandered to the shopping bags Misato had dropped near the bed. "What did you buy?" she asked and Misato grinned. For a boy she was way too curious about her shopping bags.

"Clothes for you my dear, what else?" she answered and laughed as the girl gave her a suspicious look.

"How do you know my size… oh… I don't even know them myself." Shinji asked and then realized that his old sizes were history.

"Ritz gave them to me. You got measured, weighed, x-rayed, analyzed and whatever while you were out of business Shinji," Misato replied and grinned as the girl knitted her eyebrows.

"Should I feel violated somehow?" she asked disgusted and shook her head as Misato only laughed.

"Nah.. It's alright. Standard procedure ya know." Misato calmed the spark before it lit. She made a grimace as she looked at the girls face. "You made a mess out of yourself my dear. Let's fix this as soon as possible. Can you hold the hand-mirror for me? Ngh… Not for me Shinji! So you can see your face while I try my best to make a beautiful young girl out of this teary mess," she instructed the girl as she grabbed a drugstore-bag and pulled out a Kleenex-box. With few, professional moves she cleaned her face and swiped away the traces of her salty tears. "Hmm… I don't think we should use make-up on you. I guess except for stressing your beautiful eyes it would be a waste anyways. You're a rare kind of natural beauty who's more beautiful without make-up. So let's just fix this wonderful mane of yours and we're all set!" Misato mused while she searched for something in the bag. "Ah.. there you are!" she mumbled, talking to herself and showed the girl a hairbrush.

Shinji didn't move as she tried to improve his appearance only following her moves with his eyes glued to the hand mirror. It was impressive how a few swipes with a Kleenex could wish away the traces of his crying, well except for his swollen eyes.

"Oh… before I start brushing your hair… Wait a sec…" she mumbled lost in her thoughts and rushed over at the sink to pour water on one of the Kleenex. "Here, put this on your eyes to cool them. Old trick for us girls if you cried and nobody shall notice it," she advised with a hearty grin and the girl nodded, sheepishly returning the grin to her before she took the Kleenex and started to cool her swollen eyes with it. "So.. now that's that. While you cool them I'll brush this wonderful hair of yours," Misato announced as if she had something like a checklist.

Only a few seconds later Shinji felt a hand grabbing a big load of his Hair to brush it gently. He sighed and shivered blissfully because it felt like heaven as the hairbrush run over his head and through the long hair repeatedly. Now THAT was something he could get used to without a problem at all, making him blush as he realized the meaning of his thoughts. But despite his inner conflict it felt wonderful. Maybe it was just his imagination but he thought that his hair started to feel silkier with every stroke Misato made. He relaxed and enjoyed what she did forgetting his problems for a short moment of pure bliss. Time flied without him noticing it and his eyes opened wide as Misato stopped. "Done already?" he asked dreamy and the woman laughed.

"I knew you would love this, and yes.. all done. Soooo is there anybody in here who wants to know what great treasures I found while shopping?" Misato asked amused and Shinji sighed.

"Just show them to me…" she muttered resigned.

"Bah.. you're no fun. Be a little happy at least. I did my best to find cute clothes for you!" she grumbled and Shinji flinched.

"Cute…? Oh god, have mercy!" he whined feeling an upcoming disaster.

"Come on! Take a look at it before you start whining, mkay?" Misato pouted and reeled in one of the other bags. "Is this… ah! Yes! Underwear. Perfect." She mumbled to herself as she looked into the bag. "Ok first of all. You are a girl now. Understood?" she asked, looking Shinji into her eyes, being dead serious.

"Uh… maybe?" Shinji replied confused only to get a clout. "Yeouch!" he whimpered, holding his head. "Damn that hurt…"

"Un-der-stood?" Misato repeated, stressing every syllable and Shinji decided to nod to prevent another impending clout. "Good. Girls have to take care of their body and what they wear. So no more boy's clothing for you, understood?"

"But…" Shinji wanted to object and flinched as she held up her fist to threaten him with another clout. "Ok..Ok.. I surrender! I understand. Happy now?" he asked getting a light clout for the sarcasm in his voice while Misato smiled like a cat that got confined all alone at a meat market.

"So first… some socks. Looky here, these should do perfectly fine. They're jet-black and simple. So I don't think you can complain about them." Misato showed a pair of socks as if they were a trophy.

Shinji shrugged and grabbed the pair to put them on. "Fits.." he stated looking at his feet being amazed that Ritsuko even seemed to have measured his new foot size.

"Good. Now.. the Bra…" she fished around in the bag and pulled a black Bra out of it. Shinji's heart skipped a beat as he saw the frilly thing.

"Damn you! Why frills?!" he asked irritated and sighed as she raised her fist. "Ok, ok… Is this really a normal Bra? It looks more like lingerie than underwear to me," he dared a resigned question.

"I thought it would fit you better and look pretty. Come on, don't complain about everything, try it on!" she growled and gave him the Bra.

Shinji picked it up between two of his fingers and rotated it around. "Uh… Misato?"

"What now?" she snapped, awaiting another flood of complaints.

"How do I… ya know… Uh.. Well…" the girl blushed to the roots of her hairs and it didn't really help that Misato started laughing.

"Oh… inexperienced huh?" she asked making it even worse while Shinji tried to sink into the bed as much as he could to vanish. "Ok, I'll help you. But you better remember what I'll teach you," Misato snickered and scratched her head for a moment. As a woman in her twenties it was mere routine for her, happening without even giving it a second thought. She had to go through the different stages in her mind so she could teach Shinji properly how to do it.

"Lay it around your waist. Yeah, like this. Now rotate it till the hooks are in front of your body. Great! Close it. Uh-Huh like this. Now rotate it back till the cups are in front. Carefully stick your Arms through the straps. Don't overstretch them while doing so or you'll need a new Bra. Yes, you're a natural Shinji!" Misato said smiling while she watched with eagle eyes what he did.

"I can't help but think that you're actually enjoying this…" Shinji complained, sounding like a tortured cat.

"Oh I do. Believe me, I do." Misato admitted without hesitating and looked at her. "Ok, all that's left is fitting your Breasts into the cups. See? All done. Wasn't too hard now, wasn't it?"

"Yeah.. surprisingly simple. I always imagined this stuff would be more.. complicated." Shinji answered without thinking, reddening again after she started to giggle. "I.. I mean I… err…" he tried to make the best out of it but it was too late already so he gave up and looked down at the blanket.

"Alright, alright Shinji it's normal at your age to think about this stuff. So don't worry too much about it, okay?" she soothed her embarrassment.

"Aaaand NOW the main event! Look at THIS wonderful pantie!" Misato said solemn, grinning like a Cheshire cat as she held up a black, as good as transparent thong with frills.

"MISATO!" Shinji gasped horrified. "Only over my dead body! Don't even think about it! NEVER! No clout can make me wear such a.. a.. THING!" he snapped and Misato broke out in uncontrollable laughter.

"bwaahaha your face… priceless… Shinji.. you should have seen it.. too funny.. I.." she gasped for air. "I.. bwaahahahaaaaa" she started laughing harder as she saw her pouting face.

"I hate you…" Shinji hissed deeply offended and Misato snickered as she calmed down.

"Aww come on now Shinji. It was just a little joke ok?" she defended herself, still snickering. "So here's the real one, it was a set so don't complain again that it has frills." She said and showed him a beautiful black slip with bright purple frills.

"I guess I can't convince you to drop this and give me some boxers huh?" Shinji asked sheepishly as he looked at the slip blushing to the roots of his hairs.

"Oh I would recommend trying them on before whining about them. Panties are a lot more comfortable than boxers ya know." Misato giggled and Shinji gave in, grabbing them while getting out of the bed.

"Here goes nothing.." Shinji mumbled and put them on without having too much trouble. He blinked for a moment as the soft cloth snuggled up to his skin and it felt really good. "Wow.." he whispered amazed, looking at himself in the near mirror of a wall closet. "They're really comfortable Misato…" he admitted defeat regretting his words the same moment they left his mouth as he saw her big grin.

"Glad to hear that my dear," she spoke in dulcet tones grabbing another bag. "OK, now to the outer appearance. I guess getting you dressed in the right underwear for a girl is enough for now so you can choose between this attire.." she pulled out night-blue baggy pants and a jet-black tank top. "..or this attire. Your decision, no clouts for you this time," she continued getting the other bag, pulling out a dark purple colored dress. It was a neat one-piece with its thin straps being tied behind the neck.

"Hm.." Shinji mumbled trying to think about his situation. He already wore female underwear against all male reason. And if what Ritsuko said earlier was true he wouldn't change back anytime soon so despite his pride as a man, was there really something against wearing the dress? "What would you suggest?" Shinji asked her, curiosity resonating in his voice and her eyes started to glow. 'Uh-oh.. Did I wake a monster?' Shinji thought a bit frightened by what he saw.

"Well. You are cute, having a great body and wonderful long legs. I would vote for the dress. Wearing baggy pants would be a horrible waste in my eyes. Oh I nearly forgot. I have another dress. It's a bit shorter than the first one. They had a sale going on, take two pay one. I think this would fit you even more but.. I guess you'll need more time until you will find the courage to try wearing sexy clothes instead of simply neat ones." She started chattering on and pulled out a cocktail dress out of another bag. Now THAT really was too much for Shinji, his cheeks reddening again.

"I.. guess I'll try the normal dress then. You're the woman of us two so I believe I can trust in your opinion." Shinji said insecure and yelped surprised as Misato shot from the bed to hug him tight for a moment.

"Thanks Shinji. This means a lot to me." Misato whispered into his ear, her warm breath brushing against her ear making the girl blush all over. She snickered as she saw her red face and let go of her. "Easiest way putting it on would be laying it on the ground and pulling it up." She suggested and Shinji nodded grateful as he followed her advice.

"Oh.." was all he could say as he saw himself in the mirror. In front of him stood a beautiful young girl, one helluva long, straight and jet-black mane with several bright purple highlights in it, her sapphire blue eyes staring back at him, and a perfectly fitting dark purple dress. The slim shoulders stood out where her mane didn't cover them because the soft skin had a milky white color. 'Can someone actually fall in love with his own reflection?' he thought irritated and turned around to look at Misato who sat on the bed being quietly immersed in her own thoughts as she looked at him with a bright smile.

"Beautiful…" was all she said and it was enough to reach his heart.

"You think so?" Shinji asked insecure and the Woman laughed.

"Yupp. I do. So what do you think Shinji, you're up to some boring psycho test with Ritz?" she asked and yawned heavily.

"Well, whatever." The girl retorted and shrugged her shoulders. "It's not as if I could avoid it even if I wanted to," she added resigned and took another look into the mirror, lifting up the dress to look at the slip. "I can't believe I'm wearing this…" he mumbled more to himself than to the sleepy woman.

"Believe it Shinji, it suits the new Shinji damn good," she giggled and dragged herself out of the bed. "Ok. Put on your new shoes and let's go Shinji. I just decided to watch your test and even if I'm not allowed to interfere, I think being with you should be enough to keep your head cool."

The girl grinned and did stick her thumb into the air "Sounds cool."


	4. Chapter 3 - Changes

**Chapter 3 - Changes**

**15 Minutes later – NERV-HQ Infirmary Room T-01**

"So he's calmed down?" Ritsuko asked the tired looking woman who tried to steal her cup.

"Coffeeeee…" Misato wheezed and Ritsuko grinned, pushing her cup over to her. "And yes. After I helped her through the panic attack you've caused somehow, she seems fine now. Resigned maybe and even a bit confused but I don't think she will snap again. At least.. I.. I.. hu..huuuuaaaaaaaaaaa" a huge yawn forced its way out of her and she didn't even care anymore to raise her hand to cover it. "At least I hope so, was what I wanted to say. Sorry Ritz…" Misato continued and took a sip of the hot coffee only to choke. "Bwuargh RITZ! What the fuck is this? Oil?" she asked horrified and the Blonde laughed amused.

"That's what I define as coffee my dear. It's what keeps me going without yawning like hell or looking like a zombie."

"Hmpf…" replied the woman and gulped down the cup in one go. "Bluargh… still tastes like oil…"

"Don't drink it then?" Ritsuko suggested deadpan and the other woman massaged her temples.

"Well, I don't think I have something like a choice here. But let's change the topic. If you're asking me it's too early for an evaluation. She needs to settle down more before you can torture her with your weird test. Is it possible to delay it somehow without keeping her at the infirmary? I have the impression that being in the infirmary isn't really helping the situation." She summed up her thoughts and Ritsuko poked her own nose with her index-finger as she thought about Misatos request.

"If I write it down like this I think I can delay it one or two days. The Test is only necessary for piloting an EVA again anyways. Releasing him…"

"Her, please." Misato interrupted her.

"Releasing HER, might be possible too but the protocol states that a guardian has to sign responsibility for releasing a patient too early. So that would be you and I don't think old man Fuyutsuki will go easy on you if something happens to hi..her." Ritsuko thought out aloud and wandered from one side of the room to the other.

"That's ok for me. He knows about my social skills and as long as I keep her away from you a little longer she will calm down by herself in no time," Misato tried to tease her but her tired voice ruined the atmosphere.

"I would suggest that you'll talk this over with him before we release her."

"That wouldn't be necessary Ritsuko." Fuyutsuki interrupted them as he entered the room with Shinji following behind him.

**5 Minutes earlier – NERV-HQ in front of Room T-01**

"My what a wonderful young Lady do we have here?" the old man said amazed as he took a good look at the girl waiting in front of the room where Ritsuko usually did her evaluation tests.

"Oh.. Hello sir." Shinji replied sheepishly and started fidgeting with her dress. The way the second-in-command complimented her appearance embarrassed her.

"Who assembled this formidable outfit for you?" he asked curious and nodded as the girl told him that the Captain did it. "I hope you like it young Lady, it suits you well. May an old man take this seat next to you to rest his bones for a while?" he asked polite and the girl was too perplexed to deny. She simply nodded, shyly averting her eyes.

"Can I help you somehow?" she asked modest and the old man laughed amused. "My, what splendid manners you have young Lady. Do I see the education of a certain Akira Irishima at its best in you my dear?" he asked smiling and nodded as the girl looked at him with widened eyes.

"Forgive me uncle… I didn't recognize your voice without a phone between us." She said embarrassed and the old man smiled gentle as he shook his head.

"Don't worry about it Shinji. So.. have you accepted your situation yet?" he asked after a few silent moments and the girl dropped her shoulders.

"Not really. I mean.. It's so damn crazy. I think without Misato's help I would already live in an asylum. She.. I dunno, it seems as if her sheer presence soothes my confusion and anger but.. I think I can tolerate it somehow if I have more time to think about this," she gave a more detailed answer and the old man nodded understanding.

"Yes. It would be strange if you would laugh and say everything's fine but that wasn't really what I wanted to know," he stated while sounding as if his thoughts were far away. "Say.. have you met your mother lately? Did she tell you something about your role in this tragedy?" he suddenly asked and already knew the answer as he saw the girl flinch.

"I see…" was all he said as the girl gave him a faint nod. "You know I miss her. I really do. She was a clever girl back in the days when she was one of my students. She foresaw that something like this might happen to the world and sacrificed herself so that we all might survive for a better tomorrow. I know she still lingers around in the core of Unit 01 after she got absorbed into it eleven years ago. I often visit the EVA and talk to her about what her crazy husband plans and what happens in the world." He mused, lost in his own thoughts and Shinji smiled at his words. "My, what a beautiful smile you have… Just like your mother," he stated, making her blush again.

"She.. she's missing you too… you know." Shinji said sheepishly and laid his small hand on top of the old man's. "We.. talked a bit as she explained to me why I was in this strange place you keep calling core. She would like to share a piece of her mind with my father.. can't really blame her for it. And she told me to say hello to you," Shinji made up the last part but it wouldn't hurt anybody if he made an old man happy, now wouldn't it?

Fuyutsuki saw through her simple lie as if he read a book but he only smiled. "You resemble her in a lot of feats Shinji. Not only your outer appearance, you inherited some of her strong points too. And you're a miserable liar just as she was. It's good that you don't root after your father. It's a foul trunk that's rotting away. I presume you will talk with her again in the near future?" he asked and it sounded more like a statement than a question to Shinji.

"Yeah.. she said all I had to do was thinking about her and she would pay me a visit," he answered his question and the old man nodded satisfied as he couldn't detect any lie in his words.

"Good. Tell me, Shinji. What do you really think about your situation?" a question that surprised the girl next to him.

"I.. don't know. To be honest I'm scared. I don't know what I should do or how I should behave from now on. Mum told me things I still don't understand. Why do we have to fight strange aliens called Angels, why are they trying to kill us all and how is my begetter connected to this? And now? I don't even know who or what I am. Nobody back home would recognize me anymore. Not even father would…" she spoke her thoughts and the old man patted her head.

"Oh I'm sure he would. Don't lump him together with your useless begetter. We would always recognize our kid. And who or what you are… well that's quite simple. You are my nephew. Male or female doesn't matter. We live in a world where every day could be our last so I would like to see you living your life to the fullest as long as you can. You will grow fond of your new body soon enough with the help of Captain Katsuragi and if we'll survive long enough maybe we will laugh about all this someday," he encouraged her and the girl smiled a genuine smile.

"Father would have said the same, I guess. Oh.. I nearly forgot, he told me to greet you if the chance arises…" Shinji said and the old man grinned.

"Yeah.. sounds like the old fox," Fuyutsuki admitted and looked at the now calm and beautiful face of the girl next to him. "I know it sounds stupid and believe me, I can't really imagine what's going on in this head of yours at the moment but try to hold your head high Shinji. Be proud of your mother's genes in you. And if it helps… thanks to your.. accident you're now a quarter less related to Gendo than before," he encouraged the girl and she giggled.

"Thank you.. Now THAT really helps." was all she replied to that.

"Nah, don't thank me. If this old man can help you find your new place in this rotten world than that's enough for me. Say Shinji.. Gendo planned to isolate you in an apartment for yourself. What do you think about that?" he asked suddenly, catching Shinji off guard.

"Uh… Dunno, doesn't sound appealing to me. As a boy I might had accepted it but now as a girl? Living alone? Sounds like an invitation to disaster if you ask me," she mused and Fuyutsuki agreed.

"Yes, indeed. That's why I took your situation as an excuse and intervened. What would you say if I offered you to stay with Captain Katsuragi?"

Shinjis eyes widened to the size of a plate as he comprehended what the old man said. "Well… I would love to accept this. At least I can talk with her without getting a headache as I would with Ritsuko and living alone… I wouldn't like that for sure. Would it sound strange if I would say that I feel save if she's around? I can't explain it but.. somehow she.." the girl tried to find the needed words for what she wanted to say, "..she.. feels like a mother?" It sounded insecure, as if she didn't know herself what she felt.

"Well it makes sense to me Shinji. Yui vanished eleven years ago and you grew up without a mother. Captain Katsuragi lost a lot of precious things as the second impact changed our world. She understands the pain in us better than anyone else and that's what you need at the moment, a loving mother who strengthens your back as you continue to walk your path. And living with her will only be the first step for you on your way to become an adult Shinji. So let me ask again. You're absolutely sure that you don't want to live alone in an apartment but share your life with Captain Katsuragi, if she accepts you?" the last part made her flinch because it stirred up the fear of being rejected by one of the few persons that actually cared about her but she nodded again, reconfirming the answer she had given earlier.

The old man stood up and presented a huge smile to her. "Then it's decided Shinji. Follow me, we will tell the Ladies and get you out of here so you can rest." He said and held up his arm so she could link arms with him. She smiled gently as she linked with him and somehow she felt as if being near him gave her strength to walk with pride. "Oh and.. I have another surprise for you. Please feel free to open it if you're feeling strong enough my dear." he said and gave her an envelope. Shinji decided to hold on to it for the moment. Whatever surprises it held for him, he knew for sure he wasnt capable of another one today.

As they entered the room they overheard a part of the conversation between Misato and the blonde scientist. The Blonde suggested to a horribly tired looking Misato to talk with second-in-command Fuyutsuki about something and before she could answer the old man butted into their conversation.

"That wouldn't be necessary Ritsuko," he interrupted them and smiled as the jaw of the Blonde hit the floor after he stepped aside, revealing the girl behind him.

"Whoa…" Ritsuko gasped dumbstruck as she looked at her, shaking her head as if she tried to shoo away an illusion.

"She's a real beauty if someone helps her into the right clothes, huh?" Misato asked her with something that should have been born as a giggle but ended in another yawning of her.

"Uh-huh.." Ritsuko agreed still at a loss of words. What she saw seemed unbelievable to her. The girl stood next to the second-in-command with linked arms and it looked as if a father would walk his precious daughter to a festival. She was radiating like an amethyst in the dark purple dress with the jet-black mane flowing over her shoulders like two rivers of pure darkness, the bright purple highlights glowing. Ritsuko couldn't think about what Misato or the second-in-command might have said to the girl but her sapphire blue eyes looked calm and gave off an aura of courage and pride. Was this really the girl who snapped at her a mere hour ago?

"I already talked with Shinji about the situation. I guess you two did the same about releasing her from the infirmary?" authority resonated in his voice and Shinji blinked surprised. Outside the room he just sounded like a caring grandfather but in front of his two subordinates his speaking was much harsher. He nodded as the two women positively answered his question and then continued. "I already convinced Commander Ikari to revoke his order that the girl shall live alone at the Shiba-Complex. Captain Katsuragi, I won't order you to take care of Shinji but I would like to give the girl into your care. All necessary documents are already prepared and pre-signed with your digital signature. If you agree you can take her with you and her belongings will be directly delivered to your apartment as soon as possible."

"Oh that wouldn't be necessary Un.. Sir. All of my belongings are clothes anyways so I guess you can throw them away..." Shinji said modest, a faint smile decorating his face.

Ritsuko and Misato looked at each other both far too surprised to say something.

"You mean.. Shinji and I will live together?" Misato echoed flabbergasted while she tried to understand his words through all her sleepiness, tilting her head to the side as the old man confirmed it again.

Shinji sighed relieved as a big grin formed on Misato's face as the old mans words started to sink in.

"Of course I'll accept this!" she agreed and the old man grinned.

"Good. As told the paperwork's done already so you can head home if you want. I guess that's ok Ritsuko?"

"Uh.. yes," she answered still being too perplexed to ask him why or how he did this. "Did you sign the PRF too?" was the question for the document added by her that was necessary to release a patient.

"Indeed. Everything's on your desk," he answered smiling and the Blonde nodded.

She gave Shinji another once over and still couldn't believe what she saw. "Wait a second please." The Woman turned around and searched something on the desk behind her. "Ah there it is.." she murmured to herself and gave the girl an ID-Card and a mobile phone. "Here, you will need the ID-Card if I need you for a test and the phone so I can tell you that I need you. The number is an official one here at NERV so we can reach you if you're not here. Please keep it as close as you can!" she explained and Shinji watched confused from her to Fuyutsuki and back to her. The old man nodded and winked at her so she took the two items out of the Blondes hand and thanked her with a gentle smile.

"Uh.. yes. No need to thank me. Standard procedure and so on," Ritsuko mumbled irritated and left the room pretty fast after a few last words with Misato. The both of them where whispering so Shinji couldn't understand them.

"Ok Shinji, Misato. I have to go back to my duties. Shinji, remember what we talked about and everything will be alright soon, okay?" he gave a last advice to the girl before he left too.

"Well… I guess we should go too, huh?" Misato asked and Shinji agreed. As they left the room some nurses were rolling a bed down the floor. Shinji froze as he saw the blue hair and sped up to reach the bed before they could roll it into the elevator at the end of the corridor. "Shinji?" Misato asked irritated at first but as she saw where the girl was going she giggled amused.

"Please wait for a moment!"

The Nurses stopped as they heard a girl calling out to them. "Yes?" the older of them asked and the girl apologized very old-fashioned as she held her hands folded above her head, bowing down as she apologized and asked for a few seconds alone with their patient. "She's getting relocated, commanders order, so I don't think we should…" she tried to reject but the girl interrupted her.

"Pretty pleaseee?" she pleaded and the sapphire blue eyes seemed to melt her opposition away.

"Ah… whatever. Let's take a break. I guess we can let her rest here for a few minutes till we have to bring her to the sublevel.." she talked with the younger nurse and the both of them walked away, ignoring the surprised girl in the purple dress.

"Uh… I guess that means.. yes?" Shinji asked confused and looked at the blue haired girl in the bed. Shinji flinched as she saw that she was awake and stared at her with her one healthy eye. The other one was still covered with a thick bandage. "Hi.. uh… name's Shinji.." Shinji started and thought about how she should talk to her.

A silent, gentle voice broke his thoughts as she spoke to him. "Ayanami Rei. You're the pilot of EVA 01. You look different somehow?" she stated the last part sounding more like a question and Shinji's eyes opened wide.

"How did you.. I mean.. I.." she stuttered and blushed under her adamant stare. She seemed so fragile in her eyes and she wasn't sure how to talk to her about what their mother told. "Yes… That's me." Shinji answered her question lame and she blinked for a moment.

"Your hair seemed shorter last time," Rei stated deadpan and Shinji sighed. Now that was great. How should she explain to her what happened?

"Let's just say that I had an accident with the Evangelion while fighting with the Angel. Got sucked into the core of it, spit out again and somewhere along the way I got changed from a male into a female, I hope that you'll believe me, 'cause I for myself wouldn't… " she tried the direct approach and wasn't really surprised that the girl only blinked.

"I do."

Shinji blinked irritated as she heard the emotionless reply. "Well… I'm glad that you're believing me, I guess.." she said confused and the girl on the bed blinked again.

"There is no reason not to.. As far as I can see it with my eye you're female, and the similarities to your male body are obvious. I recognized you immediately as the one who vowed to keep me safe from now on." she answered deadpan again.

"Well what I wanted to… err…" Shinji was at a loss for words. She was a total stranger to this injured girl so how was she supposed to tell her that she was her brother? Well sister.. Shinji corrected herself in her thoughts and clenched her small fists. "Ok.. I.. just wanted to wish you to get well soon, sis…" she mumbled sheepishly and this time the eye of the girl widened surprised.

"Sis?" she echoed and Shinji nodded.

"Yes. If.. If its ok for you I would like to talk with you about this as soon as they let you out of here?" the girl asked, sounding nervous as if asking the other one for a date.

"If you want to talk with me I will inform you about my release immediately as I leave the Infirmary."

It was a strange statement that irritated Shinji for a moment. 'Oh..' she thought realizing that the girl on the bed had to be under strong medication.

"Thank you sis… Please get well soon and don't worry. I meant what i said to you in front of that machine!" Shinji said and bid his farewell as she saw the two nurses coming down the corridor.

The blue haired girl closed her eye as the other one disappeared and her mind experienced a first. Confusion. A strange feeling, a nagging inner voice that wanted to know more about the girl in the purple dress. She had called her sister. And her voice didn't leave any room for suspicions about what she said. She was sure about them being sisters. As sudden as this new emotion raised it vanished again and she relaxed. The girl said they would talk about it as soon as she would be released from the infirmary and that was enough for her.

"Shinji, Shinji… you're a girl now ya know, no flirting with girls for you!" Misato teased her and the girl stopped on the spot.

"Please refrain from saying I would try to start a romance with my own sister!" Shinji said and Misato blinked flabbergasted.

"You.. Rei.. HUH?" was all she choked out of herself. First of all she teased him AND her a lot up till now and she never really got angry with her. This time her eyes glowed with suppressed rage like an hour ago when Ritsuko made her snap. And then the main point… Rei? Sister? She never heard or read a single word about this, so how could this girl say something like this with such confidence?

"Indeed. Rei and I are siblings. I don't know how and why but I am 100% sure about this and I bet a genetic test would proof it if you don't believe me. I bet Ritsuko would know about this!" Shinji stated and sighed. "Look. I know you didn't mean to offend me. Can we talk about this somewhere else? This Infirmary is making me a bit edgy you know?" Shinji asked calm and Misato needed a second to follow this sudden change of mood.

"I.. think.. that's ok," she replied irritated and laughed as Shinji smiled at her. "By the way, whats this envelope your dragging around since the testroom?" Misato asked cirious and Shinji shrugged.

"Dunno. The second-in-command gave it to me and said I can open it if I feel strong enough for it. Considering what happened today I have my fill with bad news or surprises so I just took it with me without opening it," she answered lost in thoughts and Misato snickered.

"That's an understatement my dear!" Misato closed the distance between them and linked arms with her. "Come, let's go home."

"You sure you'll find your way out of here without Ritsuko?" Shinji asked grinning and Misato poked her in her ribs.

"Meanie…" she muttered amused.

**40 Minutes later – Hitachi Complex**

The blue Renault Alpine A310 shot around the corner with squealing tires as Misato used the hand brake to let it fishtail.

"HEY! Careful! I didn't survive an angel attack only to die now because of your crazy driving!" Shinji squealed along with the tires and Misato laughed.

"Awww Come on! Let me have some fun or I'll fall asleep here! Besides, we're there already.." she giggled and parked the car on an ACL next to a residential building. "Come on, get out. Or do you wanna sleep in the car Shinji?" she snickered as the girl stayed in the car for a moment to close her eyes and regain control of her intestines.

"Give me a sec here Misato, please.." Shinji pleaded sounding weak and Misato rushed around the car to open the passenger's door.

"You alright Shinji?" she asked worried but the girl only breathed carefully. This whole day was a disaster. It seemed natural that her body was at its limit too. The wild ride Misato gave her on their way to her home was enough to let her circulatory collapse.

"I'm just a little cold…" she whispered while concentrating on her breathing with clenched fists.

"Damn Shinji you're as white as a ghost! Come, you need to rest. Can you stand?" Misato asked and examined her.

"Don't worry, it's alright.. it's alright…" the girl answered tired and forced herself to stand up. "Just a little anemic I guess.." she added after a few seconds and broke out in cold sweat, "Can I have a moment please?" Shinji asked and rested his back against the car. With a deep sigh she slid down to the ground and pressed her head against the cool metal of the car while Misato watched her with a deeply concerned expression on her face.

It took a few minutes till her circulatory got back to normal. With wobbly legs Shinji pulled herself back on her legs and closed her eyes for a moment. "Phew… I think it's ok now.." she mumbled to herself and made a careful step forward.

"You sure?" Misato asked concerned and grabbed her arm to support her.

"Think so…" Shinji answered honest and took a deep breath. Yes it seemed ok now. "Yeah. I guess it was just a little feeling of faintness," she mused and leaned against Misatos shoulder. "Would you be so kind to lead the way Misato?"

"Mhm…" Misato replied and closed the door of her car. As they left the defined space of the parking lot it automatically transported the car underground and stowed it away. "Useful huh?" Misato asked grinning and Shinji only nodded.

Her supply of amazement for today had been depleted long ago so she just took a short note of it and followed her. Together they entered an elevator and went for the 8th floor.

"Apartment number 830. Home sweet home!" Misato sighed happily and slid her keycard through the reader. The door opened and the woman entered without thinking twice. She already pulled off her shoes as she noticed that the girl still stood in front of the door. "Uh… Shinji? Don't you want to come in? It's your home now too!" She invited her and the girl nodded before she took a small step inside.

"I'm.. home…" she said sheepishly and Misato couldn't resist to hug her.

"Welcome back, dear!" she giggled and gave her a kiss on her forehead. "It's a bit messy in here, didn't expected to get a new family member of a sudden. I hope you will get along with my other family member though!" Misato chattered as she vanished into her room to change her clothes. "What do you think? Shorts? Only panties?" she yelled out of her room and Shinji blushed.

"Shorts!" he retorted and heard her chuckle.

"You're no fun!" she giggled out of her room and Shinji sighed exhausted. A quick examination of the place let him turn pale.

"What the… MISATO! A BIT Messyyy? This looks like a dump!" Shinji squealed and looked around, her eyes opened wide. Wherever he looks he saw old packages of cup noodles and other fast food, tons of beer cans and innumerable empty packages from snacks. Just how did this woman live at all? Taking her food customs into account she must have died long ago because of malnutrition!

"Ehehehe… Sowwy?" she heard her apologize and sighed.

Despite being dead tired and done for Shinji started cleaning. "Any garbage bags?" she yelled and searched the kitchen. As she already anticipated Misato wasn't really of any help to her. Her vague direction let her find some cleaning tools but no garbage bags. "Ah!" She triumphed as she found a roll of garbage bags under the sink. Cleaning had been one of her duties back home so she packed 4 garbage bags full of Misatos stuff in no time. Without mercy she hunted every piece of garbage down and cleaned their home while Misato holed up in her room. Shinji bet she feared that she might had to help if she came out now and smiled grim. Her lifestyle of a bachelorette would experience some serious changes pretty soon.

"If you're hungry, there must be some things left in the Fridge!" she yelled out of her room and Shinji stiffened.

"Wait a second… Everything I see is microwave fast food and snacks… Does she even…" she mumbled to herself and hesitated to open the fridge. "ARGH!" was all she could choke out as she looked into it. Microwave instant curry, beer and snacks was all she found inside the fridge.

"I'm NOT hungry…" She yelled back at her and stressed the not angrily. "Oh and we will go to do some grocery shopping tomorrow!" she added grim as she continued cleaning.

It took a while but finally she clapped her hands, dusting them off and sighed. "Finally… I thought this would never end… what a mess!" Shinji muttered to herself and the faint giggle behind her didn't really lift her mood. She turned around and blushed the same second she saw the woman. Only wearing a sports bra and blue hot pants any boy would get a nosebleed immediately. Strangely Shinji felt nothing as she looked at her, only the embarrassment of seeing her like this. For now she pushed it aside, telling herself that she was exhausted.

"I'll cook something for us!" Misato said happily and Shinji frowned.

"Wouldn't you need ingredients in order to cook something? Please tell me you're not referring to one of these poisonous instant curries out of your fridge!" Shinji asked horrified and Misato laughed.

"Don't be picky, it tastes good and it's fast. Perfect for me!" she shot back and Shinji closed her eyes to calm herself.

"We'll talk about this after I regained some strength… For now… just do whatever you want.. I'm beat." Shinji muttered and closed her eyes, falling into a light sleep almost immediately. An annoying *PING* woke him up as the microwave tried to tell them that she finished heating up the instant curry.

"Ng…" Shinji yawned tired, rubbing the sleep out of her eyes as she crawled over to the dining table.

Misato hummed happily as she carried everything over and took place in front of her. Without asking she snatched her bowl and filled it with rice before she poured the hot instant curry on top of it. "Here! Bon Appetite!" she said smiling and Shinji was too tired to say something.

It tasted horrible and Shinji decided it would be the best for them to never let Misato cook again. They ate in silence and after Shinji had finished her meal Misato smiled like a wolf. She had gulped down 4 cans of beer already and a slight red stole itself onto her cheeks.

"What?" Shinji asked irritated and the woman started to grin.

"Wanna take a bath?" Her grin grew wider as she saw her blush.

"You mean… you.. and.. me?" Shinji stuttered confused and Misato nodded. She looked like a Cheshire cat and Shinji didn't know how she should react. She was a boy.. well on the inside.. but on the other hand… she was a girl now so it shouldn't be a problem.. but.. then again she was a boy! An educated boy!

Her earnest thoughts got interrupted as Misato started to double up with laughter. "Oh man! I love teasing you Shinji!" she cackled and Shinji blushed even more. But this time more out of anger than embarrassment.

"You know what? Fuck you! As if I hadn't had enough of this shit today!" she snapped and it sounded deeply hurt. It was enough to sober her up partially because she seemed to understand that she went too far with this one.

"Ok, ok… I apologize. Don't be mad Shinji. And.. we're both girls ya know? Bathing together wouldn't be a problem at all. If you want to!" she said, averting her eyes.

Shinji reddened a bit more, squealing a strict "NO!" before she vanished into her room to get ready for the bath. 5 Minutes later she came out again, wearing nothing but a towel around her slim body.

"Be nice to Penni!" Misato giggled and the girl tilted her head, giving her a puzzled look but Misato already concentrated on another beer.

With a suspicious look through the opened door she peeked who might be in there that was named Penni but as she saw nobody she shrugged it off as another weird joke from a drunken Misato. Relaxed she took a seat next to the bathtub and started washing herself as something next to her splashed.

Frozen because of shock she slowly turned her head to look into the bathtub and yelled surprised as she looked into a bird face.

"Gaawk!" responded the strange Penguin with the red eyebrows and Shinji flinched as the door flew open.

"What happened?" Misato asked worried and started to laugh as she saw the pale Shinji face to face with her beloved pet.

"Oh.. you met Penni!" She giggled and Shinji tried to understand what happened.

Slowly she turned her head from the bird towards the woman. "A.. Penguin.. in a hot bathtub?" she asked puzzled and Misato nodded.

"Yes. He's a warm water penguin. I rescued him as some researchers were done with their experiments and wanted to dispose him. Since then he's my beloved family member!"

Shinji shivered as cold air brushed over her back. "Uh… ok… can you.. can you please close the door?" Shinji asked modest and Misato laughed as she left the bath.

"Gaaawk!" Penni tried to bring his existence back into her mind.

"Uh… Hi." Shinji answered calm and looked at the bird again. "Somehow you're really cute ya know?" Shinji said and reached out with her hand to pat his head. The bird looked at her hand and flapped a wing as she reached out for him. Somehow Shinji had the feeling as if the bird checked on his gender right before he closed his eyes and tilted his head so she could pat him easily. "Wow.. you're pretty clever huh?" Shinji asked and the Bird squawked in response. "Is the water nice and cozy?" Shinji asked and the bird squawked again. It sounded like a confirmation. Carefully she tried feeling the water temperature and giggled surprised as the bird caught a strand of her hair with his beak to nibble on it. "Hey hey! Please don't!" she squealed amused and ruffled his feathers. "Wanna take a bath with me?" she asked smiling and to her amazement the bird really nodded, floating aside so she could enter the bathtub.

"Ah… now that's good…" Shinji moaned joyful and ran her fingers through the bird's belly feathers. He floated on his back, between her legs, and enjoyed the hot water together with her. "Say Penni.. is Misato always this chaotic?" Shinji asked relaxed and the Bird squawked in response sounding amused. "hehe… thought so." Shinji mumbled sleepy and drifted away into a light sleep.

"Shinji?" Misato asked through the door. She was in there for almost 2 hours now and Misato started to get worried she might have lost it in the bathtub. "Answer me or I'll come in!" she warned and waited for another minute before she entered the bathroom. She couldn't help but start smiling happily as she saw the girl sleeping in the bathtub with Penni floating next to her, snuggled up to her face with his own. As he noticed Misato he squawked faintly so he wouldn't wake up the girl.

"You like her?" Misato whispered and the Bird nodded opening and closing his beak, as if he wanted to smile. "Yeah, same here Penni… same here… She's cute huh? Falling asleep in the bathtub, a perfect bathing partner for you what boy?" She talked with the bird and Penni squawked with an agreeing sound. Sometimes it was spooky how the bird seemed to know exactly what the humans wanted to tell him and responded in a way that seemed as if he was answering them. Misato often asked herself what the scientists had done to the poor bird.

"Let's get her into a bed…" she whispered and the bird gave her a disappointed look that made her laugh as silent as she could. She laid out a big towel meticulously and lifted the wet girl out of the bathtub. She seemed dead tired because even as Misato laid her on the ground and started to dry her she just continued sleeping. Penni toddled next to her and poked her arm gently with his beak, squawking at Misato as the girl didn't respond to him.

"Don't worry, she's just deep asleep. Was a rough day for the poor thing.. She'll play with you tomorrow!" Misato said and smiled amused as the bird squawked again and toddled out of the bathroom. Carefully she dried every nook and cranny of the girl and wrapped a new towel around her skinny body before she lifted her up and carried her to her own bedroom. For this night it would be easier for the girl to sleep over in her bed because the room she would use was a mess and dusty. "Damn… you need to eat more Shinji!" she muttered as she lifted the girl up again and wondered that she was as light as a feather.

"Nighty night Penni!" She whispered as she sneaked through the living room. She had an open kitchen, sharing the room with the spacious living room and the bird was right about to enter his sleeping fridge. He turned his head at her and squawked in response before one of his claws pushed the button and entered the fridge.

Misato sneaked on and unloaded her human freight into her bed. "Hm… and now? I don't even have a pajama for you…" she mumbled and looked around. Even her bedroom was a mess and a lot of her clothes lay where she let go of them. "Nightgown… nightgown… Damn I'm always sleeping in underwear…" Misato whispered and scratched her head. As far as she could remember it she had no nightgown or pajama… But she had Shirts… Shirts far too big for the skinny girl… "Oh well… She'll kill me tomorrow but here goes nothing.." Misato sighed and stripped her out of the towel before she wriggled her into one of her Shirts. She wanted to let her sleep bottom naked at first but decided against it after giving it a second thought. She would be able to explain the shirt. But without a panty just because she was too lazy to put one on her would bring her the girl's wrath for sure. After she grabbed one of the newly purchased ones and fidgeted it somehow over the girl' hips she looked at her work. The girl looked cute somehow. Like a small child wearing her mums clothes. The shirt was way too big for the girl and Misato started to grin mischievous. Shinji looked too cute in this getup. She couldn't resist and grabbed her phone, snapping a quick picture of her before she laid her to rest and covered her with a blanket.

"Good night… Shinji…" Misato mumbled sleepy and kissed the girl on her cheek before she sneaked under the blanket and hit the sack.


	5. Chapter 4 - Settling In

**Chapter 4 - Settling in**

**Katsuragi Residence**

It was a beautiful morning. Not a single cloud in the sky, birds singing their songs of joy and a shriek.

The inside of the apartment with the number 806 and the nameplate stating "Katsuragi M." looked rather quiet at the first look except for one room. In which a girl suddenly shot up from the tatami mats, looking around in bewilderment. Her jet-black hair was too long for getting messed up while sleeping and flowed over her shoulders like black rivers making her pale face look as if it was glowing, with two sapphire-blue orbs that tried to comprehend the situation as sleep still clouded her mind. While her shriek was sharp enough to make the birds outside flee in fear the other person in the room seemed completely unaffected by it, still sleeping on the girls lap, even drooling. Carefully the girl tried to push her aside without waking her up but the other woman with shorter, black hair clung to her. She started feeling funny with the woman breathing on her legs like this and this was definitely not good in her eyes. She blushed to the roots of her hair as another brush of warm air stroked her inner thigh.

"Misato…. Misatooo!" she tried to wake the woman slowly increasing her volume but the woman remained unaffected. Even shaking her did nothing at all. "How can she sleep like this?" the girl muttered annoyed and freed at least some strands of her hair. "Aww come on now!" the girl sighed angrily and pinched the woman's nose. THAT seemed to work because she started squirming around to get rid of the thing that was pinching her. "Weeeell?" stated the girl with a mischievous grin while pinching her nose again as the eyelids of the woman started to flutter. "Rise and shine Misato, and GET OFF OF ME!" she yelled the last three words ripping the woman on her lap out of her dream world.

"Wha..? Huh? Who..?" Completely disoriented the woman lifted her head to look around, scanning her surroundings in trying to see who or what might have attacked her sweet dreams.

"Why don't you dare who-ing me! Care to explain why I'm in this outfit and why you're abusing me as your private pillow?!" the girl asked pissed and the Woman blinked puzzled.

"Uh… Shinji?" she asked sleepy and the girl started to twitch. "Why are you wearing one of my shi… oh.." she mumbled more to herself than answering the angry-looking girls question, stopping mid-sentence. Pictures flashed through her sleep drunken brain, pictures of a naked, sleeping girl in a bathtub, a girl that she lifted out of it and that she brought to bed. "Well… uh… bathtub… sleeping… naked… you… my… no…" she mumbled while drifting back into sleep and the girl growled annoyed. She pushed the woman away with all her might and crawled out of the bed to gain some distance.

Still a bit confused she looked at the sleeping woman and shook her head. A growl from her stomach caught her attention and she scratched her head. Even IF she was hungry… there simply was nothing she could make for breakfast. Well except for beer and snacks. "Oh well… here goes nothing. Either I go shopping so I get something eatable for breakfast or I'm eating chips or instant curry…" she mumbled to herself as she collected her clothes from yesterday which laid around in the bedroom. It didn't look as if Misato would stand up any time soon and so the girl left her where she couldn't do any harm.

First she needed to pay the toilet a visit and saw herself confronted with her first real challenge of her new life as she lifted up the toilet seat and tried to grab something that went missing the other day.

Right as the birds had settled again at the trees another shriek echoed through the area.

"Fuck…" mumbled the girl in the bathroom, lowering the toilet seat again and sitting down. She had read enough Mangas to at least have a slight idea how it would be to pee as a girl but actually doing it was kind of humiliating. A very important point that she always defended in her old life, peeing while standing in front of the toilet, was gone. Forever. She relieved herself and her knowledge was good enough to know what she needed to do for cleaning herself. After flushing she wriggled herself out of the shirt and left her panty off as she stood up and positioned herself in front of the huge mirror.

"A girl huh?" she mumbled and lifted her breasts a bit just to let them bounce back. She eyed herself up and down in the mirror. She had a pale and clean skin with rosy nipples. The body looked wiry, not bony and despite the fact that she could count her rips her body looked more as if she was a panther. Mesmerized she watched her own muscles as she tried to flex parts of them which she used as a boy. Of course a lot of the muscles she had as a male were gone but still her body had enough she could work with as a baseline for improvement. As her eyes went further down she blushed a bit as she looked at her own crotch. Even as a boy she had never seen the real thing and it was fascinating and embarrassing at the same time as she took a good look at herself. Strangely all the hairs down there were gone and not the tiniest hair could be felt as she let her finger wander over her soft skin.

"Weird…" She ignored the faint inner voice of long gone male hormones that tried to trick her into touching herself and let her eyes wander over her legs. She blushed again. As boy she has had a thing for legs and now she got, in her eyes, a beautiful pair of them as her own. "Haaaa… still can't believe it…" she sighed and shifted her attention to the usual morning routine. Brushing teeth, washing her face and styling her hair. Well at least the last point would be routine for her if her hair would be still only around 10cm long. After becoming a girl her hair suddenly reached down till the back of her knees. It was silky, jet-black with bright purple highlights in it and she tried to imagine how she got herself some highlights but somehow it seemed as if it was something like a side effect of her situation.

"Oh well… at least they're straight so I don't have to waste too much time with them.." she talked to herself and grabbed the bra she got yesterday. As Misato had shown it to her she put it on and took a look at herself in the mirror. "Fits…" she mumbled and let a fresh slip follow, a simple black one without any decorations. "Hm… matches I guess…" she said satisfied after another look into the mirror and tried to think of clothes. All she owned was the dress from the other day and baggy pants with a tank top. She held the dress in front of her body and looked into the mirror. It looked definitely good on her but for shopping it seemed dramatically overdressed. Scratching her head while thinking she clamped the jet-black tank top between her chin and chest while she hold the night-blue pants in front of her. This didn't look as good as the dress but strangely it fit her as well. She decided to go with the top and pants.

"Gawk?" asked another member of her new family as he toddled into the bathroom.

"Morning Penni!" she greeted the warm-water penguin and smiled at him as she pulled the pants over her buttocks. "Hungry?" she knew it was a stupid question, but the bird replied with something like a nod, making her wonder how far the animal was able to understand her. "Any idea where Misato hides her wallet?" she asked curious and the bird flapped his wings before he toddled away. "Was that a shrug?" Shinji wondered amused and flinched as the bird squawked while one of its paddles like wings with the 3 finger like claws waved her to follow. Puzzled she did as told and followed the bird into the bedroom of her guardian that, unsurprisingly, still slept as if nothing did happen at all. Without hesitation the bird toddled towards a desk and opened a drawer, pointing into it. "Say… you weren't an EVA pilot before and got changed into a penguin body huh?" Shinji asked and the bird only tilted his head as he tried to comprehend what the human was talking about. "Never mind…" giggled the girl and grabbed the wallet out of the drawer. Together with the bird she sneaked out of the bedroom and towards her shoes which stood near the front door in the corridor. "Anything special Penni?" she asked and the bird only opened its beak to point with his claws into it. Shinji laughed amused and tried to think about penguins and what they might eat.

"How about some yummy sardines for you?" she asked still in her thoughts and chuckled as the eyes of the bird seemed to start sparkling. "Aaaaah… So its dried fish for you then Penni!" she said fascinated by his easy to understand body language and grabbed the key before she left the apartment accompanied by a squawk of the bird.

On the street she stumbled over another problem. She seemed to attract attention like an oasis in the desert. Nearly everybody turned around to look at her as she searched for a 24/7 market. 'Damn… Can't they stop glaring at me? That's fucking embarrassing…' Shinji thought annoyed and her eyebrow started to twitch as a boy whistled after her. She had to muster all her courage to ask for the way and even then she needed four tries before she found someone who wanted to give her an honest answer instead of describing the way into his bed. It wasn't really surprising that number four was an old woman. The men all seemed more interested in her than her question.

"Ugh… should have kicked her out of bed instead of walking alone… a mile till the next 24/7? Fuck…" Shinji muttered as she bravely walked the distance. She just couldn't disappoint the poor bird. So she jogged the mile and it fascinated her that she didn't even break a sweat despite the fact that some of her stamina went missing along with her old body.

She was lucky, right as she reached the store the owner wrote a sign that dried fish was on sale today. With a big grin she bought a few extra to the food for herself and her guardian. Eggs, salad, bread, bacon, meat, potatoes, noodles, fish, it seemed as if she was trying to buy the whole store as she reached the checkout clerk.

"Whoa there, young lady… You sure you wanna buy all that stuff at once? Are you throwing a welcome party or something?" the wiry young man with glasses asked her surprised and she laughed.

"Nope… let's say I have to teach my guardian the difference between food and… snacks," she explained and he raised an eyebrow.

"Just an educated guess but is it possible that you're a relative or the daughter of a woman named Katsuragi?" A question that left the girl dumbstruck as she stared at him puzzled how he could know about her guardian.

"How do you… I mean.. Yeah! But how?" Shinji tried to voice her thoughts and the clerk laughed while he winked at her.

"Oh don't think anything weird of me please but she's my only customer that limits herself to buying beer, snacks and instant food. Your explanation simply sounded like her. So considering how you look I guess you're family of her?" he explained and Shinji considered for a moment to declare herself as her daughter but Misato wasn't old enough for a 14-year-old child and if the clerk knew her age too she would be in trouble.

"Yes…" she answered sheepishly and the clerk nodded. It seemed as if his curiosity seemed satisfied for the moment as he started scanning her booty. It took him a while to scan everything and Shinji paid the bill while he packed it into shopping bags for her.

"Six shopping bags… and you don't look old enough to own a driver's license. You're living far away?" he asked concerned and the girl shook her head.

"Just a mile from here," she answered honest and the clerk whistled surprised, weighing the bags in his hands.

"To be honest I don't think you'll be able to carry all this for a mile. Need a hand?" the question alarmed her and the girl searched his face for the typical sign of bad "Come into my bed or show me yours" jokes from earlier but couldn't find anything. He seemed honestly concerned about her and somehow it flattered her.

"Um… why thank you but don't you have to stay in your store? I wouldn't want you to close it down for an hour just for me!" it was an honest question from her, based on one of her characteristics. Since her early years as a boy she's always been modest and independent. Her education only polished these traits to perfection so that she hated it to rely on others.

"Oh don't worry. I have a part-time worker for something like this. TOJI?" the clerk calmed her down and yelled after his part timer. A young boys head looked around a corner, short black hair, brown eyes, and pretty normal face. He looked kind of annoyed that the clerk had called him.

"Haa?" he asked and the clerk sighed annoyed.

"How often do I have to tell you that it's "What can I do for you?" and not "Haa?" Toji? Kids these days... Oh.. Excuse me young miss, I didn't mean you!" he lectured the boy and Shinji couldn't suppress a giggle as the boy made a grimace at the clerk. As he voiced his anger about kids he realized that he seemed to include his customer too and apologized hastily to her. Shinji didn't even care about it and just smiled. Smiling was a very impressive weapon of the girls Shinji thought as the clerk smiled back and focused again at the poor boy. As a boy he could have smiled all day and no adult would have been nice to him but as a girl? It felt as if smiling made the world stand still for a second.

"Please help this young girl with her shopping bags. She lives a mile from here and six bags are too much for her," he instructed the boy and Shinji tilted her head as the boy gave her a look over.

"Mkay…" was all he said before he walked over and grabbed four of the bags.

"Toji!" hissed the clerk, hinting him to take the other two bags too but Shinji was faster and grabbed them before the boy could say or do something stupid.

"Don't worry Mister; I can handle two of them on my own and thank you Mister… Tanaka!" Shinji said to the man and smiled happily as he nodded before she turned towards the boy next to her.

"If you would follow me please?" Shinji asked him and he only shrugged.

"Nope… maybe I'll take ya bags and make a run with it?" It was a stupid try to act funny and the sales clerk gave him a clout for it hissing at him he'd better behave or get kicked out of the store.

"F…"

"Please forgive him; we'll be on our way then Mr. Tanaka, alright?" Shinji intervened with an angelic smile to prevent the boy from cursing his superior out of stupidity. The man only nodded and shifted his attention towards another customer who entered his shop while Shinji grabbed the boy at his collar and pulled him out of the store.

"H..Hey!" he gasped surprised, both by her sudden action and strength.

"Phew…" Shinji sighed as they left the vicinity of the shop. "Man that was a close one. Do you want to lose your job that bad? He would have kicked you out immediately if I wouldn't have intervened!" she scolded him and to her surprise he blushed.

"Care for your own shit!" he snapped and irritated her. She would have thought that he was thankful but angry? "Don't need no help of a stranger to handle stupid bean sprout at work ya know!" he added still sounding angry and Shinji sighed as she shook her head in disbelieve. Well at least he was honest… "But… what's your name anyways?" he asked a bit calmer and she smiled relieved. It seemed as if his anger vanished as fast as it appeared.

"Name's Shinji."

"Suzuhara Toji, but you can call me Toji. Everyone does, even this stupid bean sprout!" he replied and the girl giggled.

"Why are you calling him bean sprout?" she asked amused and Toji made a groaning sound.

"Because that's what he is. He only keeps me around for lifting the heavy stuff 'cause he's all bones and skin without muscles at all." Without Shinji noticing it he looked at her from the side and took note of her body. Compared to his boss the girl looked well trained. To his fascination the girl had quite the muscle flexing under her skin whenever she moved. She wasn't really his type but he couldn't deny that she's a real beauty with a mysterious aura around her. "Looking at you, I bet you're doing some sort of martial arts or sports right?" he asked suddenly, kind of speaking his mind and laughed as the girl flinched surprised.

"Uh yes, how do you know?" she asked back, giving him a suspicious glare.

"Muscles." Toji stated a single word and laughed as the girl tilted her head in confusion. "Looking at you I see several muscles other girls I know don't have. Or maybe they have them a little bit but not as well developed as you. For example your arms, on first sight they look wiry but if you look at them now, as you're carrying the bags, you can see a well-built biceps and triceps. At least for a girl. Same goes for your legs and because I can't see even a gram of fat on your waist as far as your top is revealing it I conclude that you're some kind of athlete or martial artist," he explained and Shinji started to revise her first impression of the boy. He wasn't nearly as stupid as she thought at first.

"Wow.. you have good eyes Toji!" Shinji complimented him and fought the upcoming heat in her cheeks.

"So how come you're walking a mile for shopping? Doesn't your guardian own a car?" he asked curious and Shinji laughed.

"No she has, but she sleeps like a corpse and because I wanted to make breakfast I went out for shopping on my own. I arrived in Tokyo-3 two days ago and.. well… I didn't know how far away the next shop would be." She explained herself and the boy started laughing the moment she admitted that she went out without knowing the neighborhood.

"Man you're really stupid huh? What if ya had lost your way completely? This Towns a fucking maze, no kidding," he said as he grinned at her. He laughed again as the girl next to him started to pout. "Aww come on now, don't pout. Didn't mean to offend ya, mkay?" he said while making a funny grimace and Shinji couldn't help but smile. "See? That's better. Damn you're as easy to cheer up as my lil' sister. By the way, how far is it?"

Shinji looked at the street signs and shrugged her shoulders. "Uh…. Dunno? A few more minutes I guess?" she said insecure about the correct way home and the boy looked at her with his eyes widely open.

"Don't tell me you're lost…"

"No.. I mean.. well.." she stuttered and he laughed again, dropping the bags as he needed to hold his stomach so it wouldn't burst because of his laughter. The more he laughed the more the girl blushed till she looked as red as a tomato.

Toji needed a few minutes to get his composure back after this amusing confession. He still gasped a bit for air as he asked her where she's living. "Hitachi-Complex? For real? That's a completely different direction ya moron!" he yelled surprised and couldn't help but start laughing again. "Ah that hurts… my poor stomach… Confess, ya're trying to kill me!" he snorted amused and laughed even more as the girl next to him growled annoyed.

"Well then mister all high and mighty show me the way home please!" Shinji hissed at him and the boy giggled as he patted the girls head.

"Don't worry I'll bring ya home safe and sound. I know this place like the back of my hand and it's not that bad to take a detour ya know, more free time from this stupid bean sprout and fun with you for me, eh?" he said and grinned, lifting Shinji's mood along, before he spun around for orientation. "Ah… ok. Here we go, if you would follow me my lady!" he chuckled and started walking.

"Uh.. eh? Oh. Yes!" Shinji needed a few seconds to comprehend what was going on before she followed him.

With him leading the way they needed round about 30 minutes to reach her apartment and he placed the bags in front of the door. "Phew.. Next time use the damn car, mkay?" he snorted exhausted after climbing 8 floors with the four shopping bags. "Damn how can you still breath so calm after all this stairs?" he asked irritated because the girl seemed fine. Without breaking a sweat she did climb the stairs like a monkey his tree, making him look like a wimp. Toji was proud of his stamina and well-built muscles but this wiry girl gave him one surprise after the other.

"Training!" Shinji said smiling and opened the door to be greeted by Penni.

"Gaaawk!" squawked the bird and Toji jumped back, landing on his bottom.

"Wa..wa..wa What's THAT!?" he yelled shocked and reddened as she started laughing.

"That is a he and we call him Penni. Or PenPen if you want," she giggled amused and gave him her hand to help him standing up.

"You're really a strange one…" Toji muttered as he took her hand, wondering about the strength with what she pulled him back on his feet and how small and soft her hand felt.

"Maybe…" was all Shinji retorted before she grabbed all six bags and went in leaving Toji outside with his jaw nearly hitting the floor.

"What the fuck? Why did I have to carry these bags if you can lift them easily for yourself?!" he yelled surprised and growled as he heard the girl giggle from inside the apartment.

"Because your Boss told you to if I'm remembering it correctly," she answered, sticking out her head through the open door. "What're you waiting for? Come in!" she invited him to come in and Toji scratched his head for a moment. He was sure his boss would nag about every minute he stayed away from the shop but on the other hand? Wasn't it customer service after all if he was invited by her? A big grin formed on his face and so he entered as invited.

To his surprise it was a big apartment. Not the small two room stuff he and his sister had to live in. Through the door he entered a corridor from which several rooms lead to the bedrooms of the inhabitants, bathroom and at the end of the corridor into a spacious living room with a fused in kitchen and eating place.

"Wanna eat or drink something while you're here?" the girl asked him and he needed a second to get himself back together.

"Uh.. yeah, something to drink would be nice!" he answered her as she rummaged around in one of two big fridges. "Why do you have two fridges?" he asked confused and lifted an eyebrow as she laughed, pointing at the Penguin who stood next to her, peeking into the fridge.

"Penni sleeps in there," she added after a few seconds and some heavy crashing occurred as she threw out the useless stuff Misato had foraged in there. Innumerable cans of beer landed into a garbage bag, same happened with the snacks and instant food. With a satisfied expression the girl closed the bags and nodded at the penguin who squawked at her as if he was asking something.

"Yeah sure!" she answered him and noticed Toji's "Uh-huh"-glare at her. "Oh don't worry. I understand my little Birdie here perfectly. He's hungry and wants to know if we're eating breakfast next," she explained her behavior and Toji wasn't really sure if it was reassuring or rather worrisome. He couldn't even finish his thought as the bird caused a ruckus because he stole one package of the dried fish and attempted to flee with it in his beak while the girl chased after him… "Oh no you don't! Come here! PENNI!" she screamed angrily as she hunted him through the living room, around the couch and back into the kitchen. "HA! Gotcha!" could be heard as she leaped behind the sideboard, accompanied by a suffocated sounding squawk of the bird. "We're eating together!" she lectured the poor bird and lifted it up in her arms to sat him down at the couch. "Stay here and behave! Or else I'll make instant curry for you!" she threatened him and Toji couldn't help but laugh as it seemed as if the bird was really shocked from the idea of instant curry.

"Can you watch him a second Toji? I'm going to kick Misato out of her bed. Can't believe she's still sleeping…" she asked with her thoughts somewhere else and Toji agreed amused.

Somehow it felt as if the Bird watched him, waiting for the right moment to flee and grab his favorite food but Toji kept a suspicious eye on him. "She'll kill us both if you try this again so don't even think about it!" he said amused and wasn't too surprised that the bird squawked somehow agreeing with him. Just as he wanted to make himself comfortable on the couch a sharp shriek echoed through the apartment followed by wild laughter and pleads of mercy. "What the fuck are they doing in there?" Toji wondered while the bird only shrugged with his wings as they both looked at each other. A few moments later the laughter stopped and an evil grinning Shinji came back out of the woman's bedroom she'd called Misato earlier.

"And that's that!" she stated pleased and rushed into the kitchen, starting to prepare breakfast. "Oh.. I nearly forgot. Please give Misato the number of your Boss at the shop so she can inform him about your expanding absence. I don't want to get you into trouble because of me!" Shinji said absent minded as she grabbed a few eggs to make an omelet. Toji watched in wonder how she prepared breakfast because it looked as if she was a routine chef, not wasting any movement or ingredient while preparing the food. She whirled around with knifes, pans and ingredients like a little food typhoon.

"Hu..hu.. huaaaaa" came a yawn from the corridor and Toji tilted his head to look at the newcomer only to look away as fast as he could again after taking a good look at her body, blushing into the roots of his hair. A beautiful woman stood in the door and looked with sleepy eyes what the girl was doing. "Maaaan what kind of waking someone was that? Tickling me like hell, ripping me out of my sweet dreams… you're a bad baaaad kid Shinji…" Misato yawned depressed and blinked as the girl only giggled amused.

"You better hop into some clothes or poor Toji over there might die due to a heart attack!" she snickered and pointed at the deeply reddened boy on the couch.

"Oh… a visitor;" was all Misato said before she turned around and toddled back into her bedroom to put on some clothes.

"Sorry to ask, but can you help me preparing the table Toji?" Shinji asked him while flinging the omelet into the air and catching it with the pan.

"Sure.." said the boy and hopped onto his feet without hesitation, walking over to her. "What can I do for ya?"

"Umm…" Shinji mumbled as she bent over to grab some dishes and eating utensils. Toji couldn't help but stare at the nice view of her lower back, blushing again. "Can you arrange them on the table please? I'll bring some glasses and the food soon," she instructed him and the boy did as told while the penguin tracked every movement they made with his hungry eyes. "Penni? Catch!" Shinji giggled and threw one of the sardines at the bird. He caught it mid-air and squawked happily after he had gulped the fish down in one go. "Hehe thought you'd love to have a little snack before we eat…" Shinji snickered and arranged the food on two plates before she carried them over to the table where Toji had arranged the rest for them. He grabbed after some sausages as soon as she placed the plate on the table only to get a slap onto the back of his hand from her.

"Don't you dare giving Penni a bad example! If I see one of you two snacking before everything's done I'll cook you alive! Understood?" she snapped and both of them nodded silently. Shinji rushed back behind the sideboard to get the rest and Toji poked the bird to get his attention.

"Hey, umm… Bird, is she always like that?" he whispered as silent as he could so the girl would not hear him and sighed as the bird only tilted his head before he squawked with a shrugging of his wings. It didn't seem as if he had understood him at all. He cleared his throat as Shinji came back, bringing some fresh Juices and rushed away into the corridor.

"Misato… Breakfast's rea… MISATO!" he heard her try to call the woman to the table. The yell at the end made him laugh. As sleepy as the woman had looked he could imagine that she didn't change her clothes but go to bed again instead. Another series of crashes and giggles followed soon after she yelled and Toji tried to think about something else before his imagination could start running wild.

"Ok ok! I surrender! I SURRENDER!" Misato yelled out of breath accompanied by a lecture from the girl.

"I never met an adult as irresponsible as you! Five Minutes or you can eat leftovers for breakfast!" she argued with her and Toji grinned. His little sister often sounded the same when she tried to wake him up on the weekends.

"Mou… don't be such a meanie!" Misato complained sounding deeply hurt by her words.

"FIVE Minutes!" she issued an ultimatum at her and left her bedroom to join Toji at the table.

"Tough one eh?" Toji asked amused and Shinji nodded exhausted.

"The walk to and back from your store is easier than getting her out of bed…" she sighed and looked at her watch. "FOUR Minutes!" she yelled through the apartment and a responding,

"Yeah, yeah…" reached them.

The minutes passed by without a Misato joining them and not before Shinji started counting down her last ten seconds a fully dressed Misato entered the living room joining them at the dining table.

"Finally awake?" Shinji asked the woman and she made a grimace as answer, sticking out her tongue at the girl. "Ugh.." sighed the girl in response and watched her as she stood up again, going to the fridge. Anticipating what was coming next she gestured Toji to cover his ears. The boy made it just in time as another sharp shriek echoed through the apartment.

"WHERES MY BEER!" she asked hysterical and looked at the girl with big eyes.

"Gone. As the rest of your unhealthy stuff!" the asked one answered merciless not moving a single muscle. Toji suspected her to laugh like hell inwardly but kept silent about it. This wasn't really the best time to bring attention to himself.

"G..Gone?" Misato asked shocked and Shinji nodded. "B..But WHY?"

"Because it's unhealthy, you're living now with a person underage and because it's annoying that you're getting drunk in the early morning! Not to forget you'll have to drive later on and even if you're a high ranking officer of NERV I don't think you're allowed to drive drunk!" Shinji counted her reasons and Toji had to suppress his upwelling desire to burst into laughter as he watched the quick color changes in the woman's face. She went from pale to deep red to pale and nearly a faint blue before it went back to pale again.

"S..So I guess you mean it, huh?" she asked defeated by the girl's logic and came back to the dining table to sit down. Her mood seemed completely ruined and she looked sad.

"Ugh…" Toji turned his head to look at the girl next to him who groaned annoyed. "Ok, ok… ONE beer, only ONE beer for you!" she gave in and bent under the table to fetch a beer, making Toji wonder when she deposited it there and Misato scream for joy. Faster than Toji could follow her movements she grabbed the beer, opened it and gulped it down in one go only to burp and scream again.

"Yeeeehaaa! A fresh can of beer is the absolutely best in the morning!"

"Hrmpf.." was the direct retort from the girl as she knitted her eyebrows in anger.

"Aaaah… now that I'm awake, don't you want to introduce your boyfriend to me?" Misato asked grinning, she knew exactly that this would piss her off and she waited amused for her response.

"B…Boyfriend?! What are you, stupid? He helped me carrying the shopping bags back home because I had to walk over a mile while you did nothing better than sleeping! How can it even possible to find a boyfriend after two Days anyway?!" she snapped as predicted by Misato and she giggled amused.

"You're so fun to tease my dear…" she added some fuel to her fire and laughed as the girl glared at her, her eyes burning with rage.

"Uh… Suzuhara Toji, nice to meet you!" Toji took the initiative to prevent further quarrels between them, introducing himself.

"Oh and a well-educated one, huh? Name's Misato. Didn't know you had it in you Shinji!" Misato continued the teasing without showing mercy and giggled as the girl growled infuriated. It was really easy to tease Shinji with this stuff. Well of course it was. Suddenly becoming a girl it was impossible for her to switch her behavior and thoughts from one day to another. In her eyes Misato didn't make fun of a teenage girl bringing home a male friend, instead she insinuated a teenage boy to be interested in another boy. She knew all that but it was way too much fun teasing her instead of being considerate about her situation. Not to forget, that being considerate about it enraged her even more than teasing. Somehow it seems as if she needed the teasing to vent her anger and confusion at somebody else without snapping as she did in the infirmary with Ritsuko.

"Calm down…" whispered the boy as silent as he could and laid a hand on her knee. It was something he always did with his sister when her fuse was lit. Amusingly it worked with the strange one next to him too.

"Haaa…" sighed the girl and looked at the table, from person to person and finally to the bird next to the table who had watched their little quarrel in silence. "So let's eat something as long as it's at least lukewarm.." she muttered still a bit angry and nodded at the boy next to her, giving him a sign that she appreciated his help.

Misato only grinned and started to fill her plate without even asking what she was packing on it. Toji went for the omelet together with the girl at the same time, crossing their forks. Misato giggled as they tried it again, clashing together as before. "My how cute… You two are in perfect synch ya know?" Misato snickered mischievous without noticing the dangerous signs of a foreboding explosion. Shinji's eyebrow was twitching already and because she looked down and her long hair blocked Misatos view at her eyes nobody saw her gritting her teeth or her clenched fists under the table. "Sure you don't want to make him your boyfriend? He seems a perfect match for you!" Misato continued adding oil into the fire.

"SHUT UP AND EAT WILL YA?!" the girl snapped pissed and this time it wasn't playful. Somehow she hit a nerve with this last comment and the girl slammed her fork into the wooden table in pure rage. Toji swallowed, feeling a sudden chill running down his spine as he noticed the fork, still vibrating only a few centimeters away from his hand. He noticed directly that the girls fuse was lit, burning like a bonfire. She was pale and shivering, her fists clenched so her knuckles looked as if they would pierce through her skin any second.

"I think she didn't have any ill intention as she…" he tried to calm her down but shut his mouth as soon as her infuriated glare was directed at him. Expecting her to lecture him next he tried to steel himself against the impeding attack but nothing happened. Puzzled he looked at her seeing something like a lost expression only he could see, because he could look through a gap in the curtain her hair built after she had tilted her head down.

"Awww come on Shinji! Get yourself together, will ya? We have a guest and you're acting like a spoiled child." Misato scolded her in this situation and Toji had some pictures in his mind about a stupid goofball hitting a bomb with a hammer.

It seemed as if the girl would snap completely after her scolding, Toji could even hear the sound of her gritting her teeth as hard as she could but much to their surprise she sat down quietly and started eating without another reaction. The young boy and her Guardian exchanged a few irritated glares before Misato shrugged and followed the example of the girl.

"So Toji, you helped Shinji bringing home the groceries?" Misato asked him after a few minutes of embarrassing silence.

"Well yeah. Stupid beansprout ordered me to and to be honest… it looked like a chance to take a break from the stupid shop for me. And at least it was a real beauty this time and no granny…" he answered without thinking. As he mentioned her to be a real beauty the girl on his right blushed hard and the woman on his left started laughing. "Uh.. well… gnaaa whatever. She's beautiful but not my type ok? So stop the irritating laughter will ya?" he tried to defend himself and gave Misato an annoyed glare.

"Ok, Ok. Got it," Misato responded, still giggling. "Mind giving me the number of your boss? I guess it would be better for you if I tell him that you will come back a bit later today."

"Uh… yeah, Shinji mentioned it before," Toji remembered and searching for a piece of paper he could write the number on as a small hand tossed him a notebook and a pen. "Thanks!" He smiled at the girl who still kept silent as a grave. He scribbled a few numbers in the notebook and gave it to the woman.

"Good. I'll inform him right away, you two try to behave yourself till I'm done, ok?" she said giggling as she stood up and left the table.

"Strange one… seems as if everyone in your family is strange huh?" he asked amused and the girl seemed as if she's still ignoring him. "Hey, listen.. before, I.." he tried to apologize for his words but was at a loss for the right words.

"Never mind," she retorted, interrupting him and opened the curtain of hair that guarded her face. It seemed calm and rather distant than friendly as it was before.

"You ok?" he asked puzzled about her sudden change and she nodded without answering him.

"I guess breakfast's over as it seems," she said more to herself than the boy and stood up, collecting the plates. "You done Penni?" she asked the bird and he squawked in response, showing her the empty pack of dried sardines, making her laugh. "Little bird eating big huh?" she asked amused and Toji wondered if she was only playing along or if her mood changed for the better again.

"Shall I help you again?" he asked her and she stopped a moment to think about it.

"You can collect the other stuff while I prepare the leftovers for the fridge," she answered friendly and rushed into the kitchen.

"A bit moody, isn't she?" Toji asked the bird and grinned as he nodded faintly.

"Did you say something?" Shinji asked over the sideboard and the smile she showed while holding a knife made him flinch. It held a clear message telling him to repeat his words might end in a tragedy for him.

"Yeah, that you're a bit moody today!" he retorted and grinned as the girl narrowed her eyes. He was a blockhead and stubborn. The girl was kind of scary somehow but maybe his missing brain made him fearless or he was just sure he would win if she attacked him. He looked her into her eyes, calm and amused and withstood the deathglare she gave him.

He giggled as she sighed and continued her work. "Didn't you want to bring the rest over?" she reminded him and Toji laughed. "Damn the more I know you the more I think you could me affiliated to my little sister. You two sound pretty much the same ya know?" he explained his laughter and Shinji shrugged.

"Impossible. I arrived two days ago and haven't met a single person except for the NERV-Personal that explained to me how I have to pilot this stupid giant machine they call EVA," the girl retorted coldly and Toji nearly dropped the stuff in his hands as her words sunk in.

"WHAAAAAAAAAT?" he screamed surprised and felt guilty as the girl flinched confused as he freaked out and cut her finger with the knife.

"Ouch…" she muttered annoyed and looked at her finger. Just a scratch but still it started bleeding a bit. "Hrmpf…" she groaned pissed and put it in her mouth to suck the blood. "Care explaining to me why the fuck you're screaming like hell without giving me a warning?"

"I guess he was a bit surprised that you're leaking some classified information?" Misato asked amused as she came back into the living room and the girl looked at her with a confused look in her eyes.

"Why would that be classified that I have to pilot this weird robot? The whole fucking city saw me sparring with that green thing!" Shinji replied irritated and Misato giggled.

"Nah it's ok. That you're a pilot will get out anyway when you start going to school," she answered without paying attention to her mood.

"So.. she.. I mean the purple robot.. She piloted it?" Toji stuttered as he tried to comprehend what was going on.

"Yupp…" said both women at the same time and looked at each other giggling after it.

"W..Wow. I thought hard about how I could find out who piloted it so I could thank him or her…" Toji mumbled and both women raised an eyebrow.

"Why should you? It's her job you know?" Misato asked him, ignoring the impact her words might have on the girl at the sideboard.

"Well… Of course, we are told this in school but if she had fought that thing where they met me and my sister would be dead now. We were on our way to the shelter as the thing and she clashed ya know. If Shinji hadn't kicked it out of the city it would have crushed us for sure." He explained and Misato nodded understanding.

"Yes, likely. See Shinji? A life you saved is standing in front of you, thanking you. Feels good, eh?" she asked with a big grin and the girl blushed. "Aww come on, don't be embarrassed about it. You did great, despite you ignored my orders splendidly, but with not a single casualty under the civilians I'm more than willing to overlook your insubordination this time my dear… especially if I consider the severe consequences your body suffered after it…"

"Yes.." she answered sheepishly and Both Toji and Misato couldn't tell if it was an answer to her question or something else. As Misato mentioned the consequences for her body, both Toji and Shinji looked at her. Toji in confusion and Shinji with glowing anger in her eyes, telling her that she could drop dead if she dared to tell him what happened.

"What consequences?" asked the boy and Misato giggled as Shinji tried to pierce her with her glares.

"Well she suffered some severe injuries because of her good connection to the EVA. The rest is classified," she said amused and looked at the girl who sighed reassured that her secret wouldn't be revealed to the boy.

"Oh.." was all Toji said while giving her a once over. "She doenst look very hurt to me if im allowed to say that much…" he said calm and Misato laughed.

"Well, you won't always get injured physically. The damage she received was more psychological, which explains why she's a bit emotional unstable right now ya see?" Misato explained and Tojis eye's widened as he understood.

"But she's ok so.."

"SHE, is standing a few meters away and listening. You can ask me directly if you want to know something!" Shinji snapped mildly at him and Toji laughed.

"Sorry Shinji, You're ok so far?" he asked while smiling and the girl nodded. "Good to hear. So Misato said you will go to school? The only one around is my school, so I guess you will go to my school. Which class?" he asked a stream of questions and Misato laughed as the slightly overwhelmed Shinji tried to come up with some answers to them.

"Well first of all Shinji is still not allowed to go to school until our Doctor allows it. The Test for that will take place tomorrow," Misato intervened and felt a hot glare at her. She knew Shinji wouldn't like to do a test with Ritsuko, but it was a necessity so she wouldn't accept any complaints. "And as far as I know she will visit the 2-A as soon as she is allowed to attend school.." Misato answered most of his questions, giggling as his jaw dropped.

"That's my class! That's cool Shinji!" he yelled again, but this time for joy before he jumped next to her, holding up his hand. "Gimme five sis!" he said grinning like an idiot, irritating Shinji so that she didn't really know how to react.

"Uh… five?" she asked confused and blushed as she realized what he ment. "Oh… Ok.."


End file.
